Regardless of Warnings
by adsalor
Summary: The Legend of Zelda meets Kingdom Hearts meets some other games from my childhood. Sora, Kairi, Riku, Link and Princess Zelda in HIGHSCHOOL Hope you like it :)
1. Chapter 1: The new kids

As the sun started to set on the horizon, one of its last rays lay upon a star shaped shell lying on the sand. A boy ran towards it. _This will look just fine on mom's nightstand_, he thought, opening his bag to put it away with the others. It had been a great afternoon and he had gotten himself quite a collection. As soon as he knelt down to pick it up, though, it was gone.

"Looking for this?" The six-year-old kid lifted his head up and saw nothing but a smile. A girl about his age with short reddish brown hair and big blue eyes was holding the shell right in front of him. She tilted her head to the side and laughed.

"Hey…" He narrowed his eyes

"It's ok, you can have it." She offered the shell to him and he stood up. She looked friendly… and somehow familiar.

"Hi. I'm Sora." He grinned

"My name is Kairi" The girl beamed at him, with her hands at her hips.

"Kairi?" Sora stared at her for a while. She was wearing a white shirt and purple skirt. She also had yellow wristbands on both hands and a necklace. _Kairi…_ Her eyes reflected the pink sky and the sun, just about to set and Sora felt time stop for just the fraction of a second. "That's a pretty name."

Somewhere far away from the island and further away from their knowledge, someone watched the sunset as the kids ran together towards the tree house.

"So, did it work?" A squeaky little voice asked

"Perfectly"

* * *

_9 years later_

Sora was having the best day, as usual. His mood only improved when he opened the doors and saw tons of other kids hurrying to their classrooms, chatting happily or just hating Mondays. How could anyone hate the first day of school? Sora thought to himself. _High school_. He had been looking forward to this day so much. He patted his own stomach, trying to exchange the butterflies rounding up for the fact that all of these people could be his friends by the end of the year. And boy, did Sora love making friends.

On top of everything, he was finally going to the same school than no less than his very best friend. As he paced the halls slowly, taking his time to admire the scene, he felt glad he had a mentor. Being a year older than him, Riku would definitely show him all high school tricks, the best spots, where to eat, where to study, where to go out, everything. This day couldn't get any better.

"Sora?" Or could it?

The boy turned around and the sun actually shone a little brighter. And they were indoors.

"Kairi?" Did his voice just raise an octave? He didn't even bother in hiding his enthusiasm… or clearing his throat. "Woah, what are you… Do you go to this school?"

"No, I'm here for the food." She grinned and he melted. "Of course I go here, silly. Hey, I heard Riku's here to. Have you seen him?"

"No, I was just…"

Before he could answer, Sora got distracted by _Ooh_ and _Aah_ sounds made by some students as three girls made their way down the hallway. People actually made way for them to pass and Sora could have sworn he saw one of them bow. All three of them were wearing dresses and heels. The one in the center was a blonde and wearing a pink dress, so was the one in the right, also a blonde. The girl in the left wore an orange dress, brunette.

Kairi raised an eyebrow, staring at Sora as he watched them pass, not even glancing at him. He turned around, suppressing a _wow_, when suddenly he saw someone else approaching.

"Hey look, it's Riku!" He said. Kairi turned around and saw her friend coming their way along with two other people. One of them was a blonde boy wearing a green shirt and a beanie, same shade of green. The other one was a… girl? It was hard to tell, she was so tiny. Sora waved energetically at his friend. "Riku, hey! Over here!"

The white haired boy met his glance briefly and gave him half a smile.

"Oh, right, Sora." He sighed and stared at the girl, kind of surprised. It was hard to tell, since he looked so laid back. "Hey Kairi, long time no see. Didn't know you went here as well"

"Yep. Seems like we'll be seeing each other for more than just the summer, huh?" She rocked her body side by side with her hands clasped at her back, as she usually did.

"Hey, Riku, I was wondering…" Sora started. Riku looked back at his friends and the girl made a face.

"You know what… I gotta get to class. See you around." He didn't linger for an answer.

"Uhm, yeah… See you, I guess."

Sora stared as they walked away. So, maybe he hated Mondays?

"Who was that brat?" He heard in the distance and felt Kairi tugging at his arm.

"Come on, we're gonna be late for class."

He smiled and let her pull him all the way to the classroom. Yep, this was going to be a great year.

* * *

Link was having the worst day, as usual. He looked like a carton of milk compared to all the other students, and everyone staring only made him more aware of that. He had gone to the beach once over the summer. _Once_. And only at Navi's insistence. She could be such a pain in the ass when she set her mind to it. He had actually been kindda, sorta enjoying himself until he decided to take off his shirt. Man, he thought at least girls would be discrete. One of them even took a picture, and he was pretty sure it wasn't of his face.

Nope, the lake by the mill would have to do. No matter how many times Navi begged or how great Riku said it was. He would live without it.

Back in school, however, things were just as uncomfortable as always. Girls were staring too much… they always stared too much. And he just had no idea how to deal with all that attention. He wasn't Riku.

"HEY LINK!" Speaking of girls…

The most annoying little voice in the world was followed by what could possibly be the smallest person on earth. Her short blue hair matched her blue eyes. She was wearing shorts and a white shirt and she had a light blue bag hanging from one shoulder. She was so tiny and skinny and tiny… She looked like a pocket doll or a pixie.

"Hey Na…" The girl had to stand on her toes in order to reach the guy's cheek. She kissed him like a mother would kiss a 6 year old and almost strangled him with one arm. He always forgot how surprisingly strong she was for her size… and her lack of respect for personal space. "Easy, lemme breathe."

"Oh, don't be such a kid. I haven't seen you in a while. You seen Riku yet?"

"No, I just got…"

"HEY RIKU!"

Link brought one hand to his no longer functional ear and felt himself being pulled down by the girl again. She had found their friend and was hugging them both at the same time.

"How's it going, you guys?" Riku patted Link in the shoulder and made a face when Navi kissed him. "Cut it out."

"Shut up, I haven't seen you all summer! How was it?"

"You know, same old stuff."

The three of them entered the school and started walking straight to the end of the hallway, towards the stairs that led to the second floor. Link tried to avoid eye contact from students _and_ teachers, and made his best to ignore the whispers once he had passed.

"Hey Riku, over here!"

"Aww crap…"

Link and Navi exchanged a look. Was that kid actually waving at Riku?

"Oh right, _Sora_ …"

They waited for their friend to finish making small talk with the kid and proceeded their way to the stairs.

"Who was that brat?" Navi asked

"You have some nerve calling anybody a brat." Link raised an eyebrow

"Just a friend from that island I always spend the summer at." Riku explained. "His parents are friends with mine and they suggested he should go to the same high school as me."

"The girl was pretty, though." Navi insisted on the topic

"She was like, 12" Link said in disgust

"She's 15. And I gotta say… she kicked up pretty well over the summer. Hadn't noticed." Riku started up the stairs when he noticed his friend walking in another direction. "Hey, you're not coming?"

Link turned around to face his friends. "To class?" his expression said it all.

"See ya later."

He came out through the back door and reached for the ladder that went all the way to the roof. He smiled, for the first time that day, glad he didn't need to jump in order to reach it anymore. He dropped his bag at his usual spot and sat down. Took off the beanie and ran a hand through his golden hair. _Finally some peace and quiet._

Link stared at the forest and sighed. One more year… He opened his bag, took out the ocarina, sucked in some air and started playing that lullaby. The one that had always been so familiar, but he could never really tell where it came from.

* * *

"Party at my place!" Sora had heard Riku yell from the other side of the cafeteria. Where he was sitting with his friends. Other friends who weren't him. For the fifth day in a row.

It was only natural that he would want to catch up with his friends. After all, he and Sora had just spent all summer together. It was normal for him to be so distracted catching up with his classmates that he didn't even notice Sora waving at him in the hallway. The whole week.

As Friday approached, he wasn't sure if he'd actually been invited to this party. Not until his mom said Riku had called and asked if he was planning to drop by. Sora had insisted they picked up Kairi first. She didn't have her parents to drive her and he was sure the people from social services wouldn't help. Plus, he didn't want to be alone. Not that he wasn't going to hang out with Riku. No, that wasn't it at all.

Just cause.

His mom had considered it for a while. It was kind of a detour from their actual destiny… But how could she say 'no' to that face? And there they were, just outside Riku's door, ringing the bell for the third time.

"The music must be too loud" Kairi smiled. It was cute how she never got upset about anything. It made Sora feel kindda guilty for having the remote thought that maybe; just maybe, Riku didn't really want them to come.

Sora took a deep breath as the door finally opened.

* * *

"The doorbell has rung over _three times_!" Navi cried

"Then _get it_" She heard Riku growl from the kitchen.

Link was lazily scanning through Navi's ipod. "Why do you always have to be so loud?" He asked as the girl passed next to him, towards the door, Link threatened to change the song, but she snatched the ipod out of his hands and gave him a look.

"Why do you always have to be so weird?" She retorted without noticing the smirk on his face. Out of all the other girls in the party – and probably the world – Navi must be the only one who dared to treat him like that, and frankly, he was perfectly fine with it. He preferred it so much to the usual shying away, staring too much or the occasional brave teenage girls who worked up some nerve and actually tried to talk to him.

Navi opened the door and found a couple of kids about her size waving awkwardly. "Oh hi. Riku, your, uhm, friends are here?"

"What? Who?" Riku made his way through a group of teens chatting in the living room to the place where his younger friends stood. They looked totally out of place. "Oh… guys I'm glad you could make it."

Navi choked back a laugh. As Riku showed them to a table full of food and drinks, she pulled him back. Link joined them "Hey, I know they're your summer island friends and everything, but…"

"My mom made me invite them" Riku said. "Now that he's in high school, his mom wants to make sure he fits in. And Kairi doesn't really know anyone around so…" His friends both raised an eyebrow. "Look, I know they're young, but they're alright."

Link raised his hands. "Hey, I didn't say anything"

"As long as they don't tell on us…" Navi glanced at the cooler where all the beers were hidden.

"They better not. Lance and G are coming over tonight and I really want them to enjoy the party." Riku stated as if it was the most important thing in the world.

"Sure, sure. We all know you want your bitches to like you" Navi laughed and Link snorted. Lance and G were bad news and he didn't like Riku being so excited about them one bit.

* * *

Sora was bored. Not that the ambience wasn't… stimulating. The lights were too dim, the music was too loud, and several people were dancing and chatting. And then there was Kairi, just standing there tapping her feet to the music without a care in the world. Gosh, this girl could go to a politics conference and have quite a time of it.

"I'm gonna go to the ladies' room." She said. "Be right back"

The boy cast a look around. He recognized some of the students from Riku's classes, people he'd seen in school a couple of times. The girls were wearing too much make up, even the pretty ones. Most of them were also wearing clothes two sizes too small. Those were the girls with most boys around them. Plus, everybody had a drink in hand. What was so great about soda? People was laughing too much at stuff that wasn't even funny, dancing at their own rhythm and stumbling upon each other.

Sora just didn't get it. He wished they were back at the island, racing or fighting with sticks. He caught a glimpse of Riku, laughing with a group of guys and decided to take a chance.

"Hey" he managed, trying to sound not too embarrassed.

"Sora, how's it going?" Riku answered casually. Well, at least he answered.

"Great, just waiting for Kairi." He glanced at Riku's friends, several inches taller than he was, and pulled him away just a bit. "Say, Riku. I think there's something odd about your friends. What is that?" Sora stared as a guy opened the cooler and took out a golden can. Riku stiffened.

"Uhm, you know what…" Before he could finish, one of his friends interrupted.

"Hey, we're out of beer. We should go to Red's, I heard he stole a bottle of rum from his uncle's bar last night".

"You're drinking?" Sora frowned. He'd heard his mom go on and on about how kids his age shouldn't drink and how he should make good friends in high school, the kind of kids who weren't into alcohol or drugs. Riku wasn't exacly Sora's age, but still…

"Chill out, Sora" Come to think of it, Riku looked kind of odd too. Plus, he smelled weird. One of his friends whispered something to him. Suddenly, he grinned. "Hey, you wanna play a game?"

"Uh… Sure" Sora didn't think he'd like where this was going. Some of Riku's friends started to gather at his side.

"It's called seven minutes in heaven. We'll lock you up in the closet with a girl for seven whole minutes. What do you think?"

"Heh… I don't…" Sora took a few steps back, but one of the guys grabbed him by the shoulder and practically dragged him to the closet.

"And you know who's dying to get in there with you?" Riku opened the door and let his friends throw him inside.

"Uh-who?" Sora was beyond nervous

"Kairi, of course. She'll be here in just a sec." Riku closed the door and locked it. He didn't even wait for Sora to retort.

"R-really? Ok… I'll be right here". Sora sat down in the dark. There wasn't much room, it was hard to move. He embraced his knees with his arms and waited.

"What a loser". Someone said at the other side of the door, but of course they weren't talking about Sora.

Riku hesitated for a moment before turning back to his friends. He caught sight of Kairi, making her way to meet him half way.

"Hey, did you see Sora?" She asked sweetly.

"He just left" He said, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh… that's weird. Well, I guess I'll get going too."

Riku stared numbly as he let his friend peck him in the cheek and walk away, a little confused. Did he really just do that? He didn't mean to be such a dick to Sora. It's just… he was such a kid and this was a party. He shouldn't have invited him in the first place. He felt Lance's hand on his shoulder.

"We're all going to Red's. Come on." Riku shook it out and followed his friend.

* * *

Sora played with the key in his hand. It felt heavy. _Any moment now…_ Although, several 'moments' had passed already. He'd gone over what they would do about ten times now. First, the door would open and Kairi would fall next to him, laughing. Of course, he'd ask her weather she was ok. Once he was sure she wasn't hurt, he'd… He would…

_What should I do?_

His initial plan had been to talk to her about school or something. But then he had remembered what teenagers usually do in these '7 minutes in heaven' thing: kiss. Should he ask her to kiss him or just go ahead and do it? What if she felt grossed out by it? He didn't think she would. Kairi was more into grown up stuff than she let on.

They'd kissed before. In the cheek, that is… And for heaven's sake, they weren't 10 anymore. Nonetheless, Sora still blushed like the first time every time she did it. He'd only gotten better at hiding it. She was the one who always started that kind of thing. She'd even suggested they played spin the bottle a couple of years ago one night at Destiny Islands, where the three of them met. Riku was excited about it, but Sora didn't think it was such a good idea. He was forced to play after the fifth time they called him a baby, but when the bottle landed on him and Riku, suddenly his friend thought this wasn't such a good idea anymore. Kairi had laughed and insisted they did as the bottle said.

If he was lucky, she'd go in and kiss him first. Then he'd know what to do… he hoped.

_Just one more minute._ He glanced at the key again and sighed. Who was he kidding? He'd been inside the closet for at least an hour and there was no longer music playing. He wasn't even sure he heard voices anymore. He took a deep breath and placed the key inside the keyhole. Maybe he'd just forgotten. His hand gave a turn, the keyhole glowed and he was free. He wished everything was as easy as this.

* * *

Link was lost. The directions the first guard gave him at the gate had sounded simple enough. Turn left by the fountain, right past the maze garden and straight to the stables. He'd had no problem delivering the horses on time. Not that he didn't have anything better to do a Sunday morning than walking horses into mansions, it was just his job. And yeah, he didn't have anything better to do.

He'd found the stables alright and left two of Mr. Deku's best steeds with some man and then refused to take directions from him. He had to stop being so stubborn.

He didn't know how Mr. Deku managed to keep the business running these days. No one seemed to need horses anymore. Except, of course, rich people. Did they walk around with maps or something?

Link was glad Mr. Deku sent him off to make the delivery this time. If he had to take a trip to the market again, he would definitely punch someone. Why did he hate people so much? Oh right, cause everyone was so weird around him. Not even the old ladies tried to hide their interest on him whenever he walked around. Several of them bumped into him 'accidentally' as he tried to make his way to the vegetables section. One of them had once tried to 'apologize' by passing her hand through his chest… and went too low.

He shrugged the memory off and made a sharp right. Still no idea where he was.

Why were women always like this around him? What was it they found so... Appealing? He figured more of that would come his way if it weren't for the constant death glares he shot everyone. As a result, he came off as an antisocial grumpy. Which somehow they found even more attractive. What was so attractive about a poor orphan who worked at some broke stables? Didn't he smell like horses all the time?

As the years had gone by, the harassment had only worsened. Not that it didn't happen when he was younger. Once, a weird 10 year old had nearly forced him to marry her, and another girl named Saria had actually kissed him. He would have freaked out on both occasions if it weren't for Navi. She'd scared both girls off with her yelling until they finally gave up and left him alone. Saria had secretly crept through his window at the stables that night and gave him the ocarina. She had taught him to play this one song he could barely remember. She said she'd always be with him as long as he kept playing it. Navi found out and he never saw the girl again. He'd kept the ocarina and played some of those melodies that haunted him in his dreams.

He found what seemed to be the backdoor to a garden. Was that the one he passed when he came in? He wasn't sure. '_Don't let them rich folks spot ya'_, the man had said. If he hadn't been in such a hurry to leave, maybe he would have listened to directions instead of making this self-analysis.

It wasn't that he did not like girls; he just had no idea how to be around them. Navi was the only girl he felt completely comfortable with. That was probably due to the fact that she had always been around. He remembered the day Mr. Deku introduced them, back when they were ten. '_Every kid like you must have a friend like her'_, he'd said. What he'd meant, he still wasn't sure.

Link made another right and froze instantly.

There, at the other side of the garden, peeking through a window, he saw a girl. She was wearing a high fashioned pink dress and fancy jewelry, which meant he shouldn't be there. Before he could make a run for it, though, she turned around and faced him. Then he knew he was doomed.


	2. Chapter 2: The stable boy

"Please tell me _again_ how it happened". Riku was beyond amazed. They'd chosen to spend lunch outside, for a change. Plus, Link insisted he had this incredible thing to tell them, but he didn't want other students butting in.

"He told us twice already." Navi cried, exasperated. "He was sent by Mr. Deku to drop the horses at Zelda's house for their start of year rich people parade or whatever it was, they met by accident, he introduced himself and she invited him to the party. Was that not clear enough?"

Actually, that wasn't remotely how it happened.

Link had frozen in the spot once he saw her. He thought about making a run for it, but then she turned around and his muscles refused to move until she was right in front of him. She'd asked for his name, what he was doing there, if he was lost. All he managed to do was blink. Instead of freaking out, to his surprise, she'd laughed.

"I remember where I know you from." She'd said. "We go to high school together, don't we?"

"Uh… yeah" Oh he was such a conversationalist. She'd laughed at that too.

"You don't talk much, do you?" He responded by looking away and running a hand through the back of his head. She'd found that funny too. Or maybe cute? "You know, my parents let me throw this big party at the end of the event on Saturday. You may have heard of it, it's kind of a big thing." He had no idea what she was talking about. She was pretty. Was he staring? She chuckled. "You can totally come if you want to. You can bring your friends too."

"Sure". Seriously, a plant has a wider vocabulary.

"Great. I gotta go back. See you around."

"Dude, I don't get it." Riku interrupted his thoughts. "This party is like… huge. We never get invited to these things. That could be our ticket to thousands of other parties"

"Omg, all the cool kids are so like totally gonna be there" Navi mocked him. Riku gave her a look and saw Sora coming out through the back door just past Navi. She looked at him too and turned around, suddenly worried. "You should go talk to him."

"It was a pretty dishonorable thing to do" Link added

* * *

Sora threw himself into the seat and stared at his food. He wasn't hungry.

"There you are." Kairi took the seat at his right and some other kids he'd met that week filled the table. There was Ash, a dark haired real lazy kid who always wore a red cap and collected some… toys? Sora didn't know what they were. And then there was this kid Diddi, who also wore a red cap and whose last name was Kong. What kind of name is Kong? He didn't even look Chinese. If anything, he kind of resembled a monkey. "Hellooo?"

"Huh?" Sora lifted his head up and met Kairi's gaze, a puzzled look on her face.

"Hey, you've been avoiding me ever since Riku's party."

"You went to one of Riku's parties?" The other kids in the table fell silent. One of them choked nearly to death.

"Yeah" Sora mumbled. "So what?"

"So that is so totally amazing. I heard they even drink alcohol." Ash's eyes were too open. "How'd you get invited?"

"He's an old friend of ours" Kairi explained

"Yeah, but Riku never makes friends with younger kids. He actually has a tight group of friends" Diddi went on. "You guys must be really something"

"Is that so?" Kairi chuckled. "Doesn't sound like the Riku I know. Right, Sora?"

"Yeah… not at all" Sora stood up

"Where are you going?" He didn't need Kairi to be all cute and worried right now. He hadn't gathered enough strength to tell her what had really happened Friday night.

"I need some fresh air".

He swore he could feel the looks people gave him, if that was even possible. He wished he could send them hovering through the air away from him. He felt so disappointed. At Riku, at himself… He was more than that. He was hurt.

He remembered last summer vividly. Riku had come up with a crazy idea: that they should build a raft and sail all the way to another world. It hadn't sound so stupid at the time. At first, Sora and Kairi had thought he was just being silly, but he started going crazy serious about leaving, wanting to escape and how he wasn't afraid of anything.

Then Kairi had turned to Sora and said Riku was acting weird and that the two of them should take the raft and go without him. It was hard to tell when Kairi was being serious. She always had that casual look on her face. Sora hadn't even considered the fact that he would be traveling alone with Kairi – or that they knew nothing about sailing – and had stated that he wouldn't go anywhere without his best friend instead.

Maybe he _was_ still a kid. Did he miss some personality makeover before high school? He must have. All those people seemed to think parties and drinking and grown up stuff was so great. He just hadn't had such a great time.

"Sora, wait!" It was Riku's voice. He didn't realize he had just come all the way to the patio until now. Was Riku really coming this way?

"I don't wanna talk to you." He spat out and continued walking. Riku blinked and grabbed his arm

"Hey, wait up. Sora, come on." He spun his friend around and stopped him. "Listen, I'm sorry, alright?"

Sora looked like he wanted to cry. But he wouldn't, he told himself. Not even if he was just about to lose his best friend.

"I'm sorry I acted kindda weird last week." Riku lowered his voice and ran a hand through his white hair. Sora frowned

"Kindda weird? You're acting beyond weird. Ever since school started it's like you don't even know me anymore. You ignored me all week and then you _locked me up in a closet_."

"How'd you manage to escape, anyway?" Sora's frown deepened. "You're right. Not the point. Heh… I guess I'm not that used to seeing you guys in high school. What did Kairi say?"

"She doesn't know…" Sora lowered his head. "Why would you do that to me?"

Riku felt the guilt building up in his stomach. _Why did he do that?_ Part of him had been a little tipsy at the time and the other part really wanted G and Lance to think he was cool. Was that reason enough to trick the poor kid? Just cause they thought it would be funny? He knew Sora looked up to him. He was supposed to be the example, like an older brother. What was he thinking? He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He said sincerely. "I get a little stupid when I drink and some friends insisted it would be funny. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Well, then I don't think you should hand out with those 'friends' of yours". Sora crossed his arms. Riku smiled.

"They're not so bad. In fact, let me introduce you to some of them right now."

Riku guided Sora over to his friends' table, where Link and Navi were pretending not to listen. They weren't the 'friends' Sora was talking about, but it was a start.

"Sora, these are my best friends… er-in school." He gestured at Navi. "This little piece of person is my friend Navi. Everything she doesn't have in size, she makes up in annoying."

"Hey…"

"And heart." She grinned. "And that one's name is Link." The boy twitched his lip and raised a hand. "His social skills used to be better with horses than with people until this weekend, when he got us invited to one of the best parties in the universe."

"Whose?" Sora was already feeling comfortable around them

"Princess Zelda's" Navi crossed her arms

"Really? A princess?" Sora's eyes went wide. The others laughed

"She's not really a princess." Navi explained. "There's this group of girls everyone in school calls the 'Princesses'. You may have seen them around, they wear dresses and heels all the time and when they pass by you feel your brain cells dying"

"I think I have" Sora chuckled

"The other two girls' names are Peach and Daisy. All three of them are crazy popular and rich and, like, every guy's dream. You have better standards, though, I presume." She narrowed her eyes at Sora

"Me?"

"You don't have to worry about Sora." Riku squeezed him and messed his hair. "He has a dream all to himself. And she's pretty nice, too."

"What? Who?" Sora freed himself and felt the heat building up in his face. He knew exactly who Riku was talking about.

"What I don't understand, though" Riku went on, addressing Link "Is how you managed to articulate more than one word to a girl without throwing up."

He hadn't.

"Are we still on that subject?" Navi rolled her eyes.

"I mean, come on. You usually hate girls talking to you." Navi cleared her throat at the statement, but Riku carried on. "Especially hot ones."

"Hello? What am I? An ugly dude?" Everyone ignored Navi. Sora raised a hand to his chin.

"It seems to me that you like this Zelda girl" He said

"I don't like her." Link spat out, darkly. That was the first thing Sora had heard him say. Though the red blush on his face said otherwise.

"Yeah, Link doesn't _like _girls." Riku sat next to him and patted his back. "And also he wants to kill every girl in the world who takes interest on him".

"Like it's my fault". Although Riku and Navi were laughing, Link didn't seem to find the subject amusing at all. "They all keep staring at me and say awkward things and try to touch me all the time."

"Boohoo, hot girls try to touch me, my life sucks." Riku mocked. Everyone laughed, except, of course, the addressee.

Saved by the bell. He stood up and started towards his usual spot in the roof. He was gonna seriously fail some subjects. Sora, Riku and Navi went back inside.

"Don't mind him." Navi offered Sora a friendly smile. "He's a great friend once you get to know him."

* * *

He didn't like Zelda. Link shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He had decided to go to class in the end. Now he wished he hadn't. He was sitting at the back of the class, next to Navi and Zelda was three rows ahead of him, checking her cellphone.

This had nothing to do with her, and everything to do with his dreams. Link believed in dreams furiously. They were always different, but about the same thing: riding horses, sword fighting, rescuing princesses and playing these melodies. There was this nightmare in particular he felt the strongest about. The sky was dark and there was a castle. Suddenly, the door would open and a horse would come out of it, carrying a little blonde girl with blue eyes dressed in pink. She'd throw something at him, but it fell into a river. Before he could run to reach for it, another rider would come out of the castle. A dark man with red hair and the evilest look in his face. He'd stretch his hand at Link with an evil laugh, and then he would wake up.

The first time he'd seen Zelda he almost couldn't believe it, though he doubted she remembered. They were in the park and she was celebrating her 10th birthday. She was wearing a pink puffy dress and a golden tiara. This couple of red headed boys he later met as Lance and G were pulling her hair and trying to push her. Link ran to her and hit the boys with this wooden sword Mr. Deku let him carry around. The boys started crying and called their parents. Since Link didn't have any parents, they blamed it all on him and told Mr. Deku what a bully he was. He'd taken the sword and never let him use it again. In public.

This was nothing to do with her. It was just the fact that she was blonde and had blue eyes and wore pink and was called a princess. It couldn't be a coincidence. That was it, his dream. This had nothing to do with the fact that all that that pink brought out her eyes or those delicate pink lips on her face and the curve they made when she smiled at him.

Shit, she was smiling at him.

His hand slipped and his face hit the notebook on his desk. He buried his face on his hands to hide the blush and turned around. He found Navi staring at him and she mouthed '_seriously?_', raising an eyebrow.

* * *

Sora woke up drenched in sweat. Those nightmares were intensifying by the day.

He was falling from the sky into the water. No, from the water into the sky. Then there was a storm and these strange shadows would appear and he was always looking for Kairi. And then there was this talking duck and dog and Riku was consumed by some darkness. It was all too weird, but it felt like more than a dream.

He shook his head and stared at the window. It was still dark, but he wasn't tired anymore. He got up and climbed out the window, towards the woods. A nice long walk would clear his head.

* * *

Link and Riku arrived at Zelda's house at 11:30. They had let the guards guide them to the front door this time, so they wouldn't get lost among the gardens. Man, the place was huge. They could only imagine what the inside looked like.

Despite they boys' tries, they couldn't get Navi to come. That was alright, since she hated Peach's gut and they didn't want her to pick up a fight or anything.

Link rang the bell and the door opened. _Speak of the devil_… Peach stood tall with those high heels of hers, which seemed to be glued to her feet. She was wearing a too tight, too short pink dress. To her right, Daisy wore white tight pants and an orange top.

"_Excuse you_, nobody ordered cradle around here". She said to Link. Daisy covered her mouth with her hands.

"Oh buuuuurn"

Link ignored their tone. "We're here for the party". He said humbly.

"Oh, are you?" Peach went on "It seems to me that you're a little lost. So why don't you get back to your horses, that blue haired _elf_ you call a friend and play your little flute all the way back where you came from."

"It's an ocarina"

"Looks like a loser to me." She laughed and shut the door. Link turned back to Riku

"Sorry man…" Riku placed a hand on his shoulder as they started to walk back. Suddenly, something caught their attention. Two red haired boys were peeking through a dark window, at the side of the building. They exchanged a look and Riku paced slowly towards them.

"The entrance is that way…" Riku lifted his hand to point at the door when he realized they were trying to open the window. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" The one with dark skin smirked. "We found the room where Zelda's dad keeps the liquor, but the guards won't let us in from the inside. Care to join?"

Riku turned to look at Link. There was some anxiety on his expression.

"We don't want any trouble." Link resolved.

"Whatever, man. You're just afraid of the dark." The other one said. Link opened his mouth, but was interrupted

"I'm not afraid of the dark" Riku stated, proudly.

"Then get over here and help! Quick, before someone sees us."

Riku turned to link again, as if waiting for approval.

"Go ahead if you want to. I can walk home by myself." Link finally said. Riku nodded and ran towards the boys. Link put his hands in his pockets and started walking towards the exit. He was almost reaching the first gates when he heard a voice.

"Wait!"

He half turned and saw Zelda running towards him. She was wearing a pink mini skirt and a white blouse. Link made a mental note about how long her legs were and how the heels made them look sharp, though she had a hard time walking in those things. She stopped to catch her breath, a clouded expression on her face.

"Is it true, what Peach said? Do you really work at the stables?" She asked. He was hoping more for an '_I'm sorry my friend's such an insolent dumbass, please come back'_, but alright.

"The owner of the stable, Mr. Deku found me when I was a kid and took care of me ever since. Helping him out with the horses is the least I can do in return. Last week I was just delivering a couple of horses for your family's event" He explained.

"Oh.." She fidgeted with her hands. "About that… do you think you could give me horseback riding lessons?"

"What?" That had caught him completely off guard.

"No one ever taught me how to ride and I kindda made a fool of myself last week. I was so embarrassed. I don't want it to happen again" She mid blushed. "So, could you?"

Link stared at her for a while. Riding lessons? No one had ever asked him to teach how to ride a horse before… though he was exceptionally good at it. He held her gaze as he tried to remember the girl from his dream. Everything matched so perfectly. What did this mean? "I guess I could teach you some things."

"Great!" She grinned.

Link didn't even notice how far into the woods he'd gotten after that. Not until he tripped on something soft. He would have fallen all the way to the ground had he not grabbed on to a boulder. Suddenly, the thing he tripped on moved, startled.

"Huh? Wha-what's going on?" The kid looked as though he had just woken up

"What are you doing here?" Link tried to steady himself against the giant rock and took a look at the kid. "Sora?"

"Link, right?" Sora shook his head and blinked. "Woah, I must have fallen asleep. I got out for a walk and kindda got tired on my way back. Thought I'd rest for a while. Guess it was more than a while, though." He grinned. "What are you doing here?"

Link took a step forward and stared at the rock. It had some strange marks on it, but he couldn't quite tell what they meant.

"On my way home" The blonde said, distracted.

"From Zelda's party? How was it?" Link glanced at him. _Horrible… and then just weird._

"Come on, let's get you home." Link helped Sora up and they both started walking.

* * *

"Everything's falling into place, just as expected"

"Even in this world, with this new life, Riku's heart is still inclined towards darkness. Interesting."

"They may not have their memories, but their hearts are just the same"

"Interesting".


	3. Chapter 3: The gift

The past month had gone by… shall we say uneventfully? Link had gone straight to Navi and asked her whether he should give the girl riding lessons or not. Not that he needed her approval, he just told Navi _everything_. He remembered Mr. Deku constantly telling him as a kid to '_always listen to Navi_' and so he had. And until now, he hadn't been disappointed. She was a great friend.

She'd thought it was a little weird that she was asking _him_ for help. After all, she could have easily hired a more expert teacher, but since she felt embarrassed about the subject… '_Why not?_' she'd said.

Zelda was making slow progress. Really, really reaaaaaally slow, but progress nonetheless. They didn't talk much during practice, but spending time with her was really helping him to focus on his dreams. He could almost reach the object the little girl threw at him before waking up. Every night he got a little closer to it. Plus, lately he'd been hearing a different melody, but he couldn't remember the lot of it while he was awake.

Link spotted Riku sitting with a group of guys at the cafeteria. He grunted. It was Lance and G's group. Ever since the party, Riku had rambled on and on about those guys until he got to Link's nerve.

"If you like them so much, why don't you sit with them instead of us?" He'd said.

"Maybe I will" And there he was.

Link took something out of his pocket and headed straight to the Princesses' table. Zelda and Daisy were laughing at something while Peach took some selfies.

"Lost a horse, stable boy?" _Just found it._ Link ignored her and turned to Zelda. He straightened his hand towards her and held the golden chain and pendant: three golden triangles that made one big triangle.

"You dropped this yesterday at…"

"English" She said suddenly. Link blinked. "We share English class, you must have found it by my desk." She took the necklace and gave him a puppy look. Peach raised an eyebrow. She was suspicious. Zelda insisted "_Right?"_

"Right…" Link's face fell. Peach went back to her phone. "English"

"Where's that blue fly that's always hovering around you?" Peach said without taking her eyes off her phone

"There's a fly?" Daisy asked

"I mean that little parasite that's always with him. Careful, your girlfriend might get jealous if she sees you talking to us." She laughed. Link saw the line of her neck and wondered how much strength he would need to snap it.

He tried to make eye contact with Zelda. Get an _'I'm sorry'_, a smile, even a grunt would have been nice. But no, she refused to even look at him. Well, screw her and her flawless skin.

He passed Sora and Kairi on his way out. They were always all smiles and waves and good vibes. They weren't even bothered that Link didn't greet them back as he left. They stood up from their usual friends' table and gestured at them to wait while they walked towards Riku's table.

"Hey Riku" Kairi offered a smile to each boy at the table.

"Hey guys" Riku said in a low voice.

"There's gonna be a dance show at the auditorium in a couple minutes. We're headed over there and we were wondering if you wanted to join us." Sora said. He noticed Riku turned to look at his other friends before answering, but they didn't even seem to acknowledge they were there.

"Maybe later" Riku answered.

"Alright. See you later." Kairi looked as cheerful as always, unlike Sora.

As soon as they left, Riku's friends exchanged a look and smirked.

"Who was _she_?" Lance asked tentatively

"Just a friend from where I spend the summer at." He said. There was something about his tone that made him not want to get too deep into the subject.

"She was hot". G added

"Dude… she's 15"

"And way out of your league"

"Yeah right…" Riku scoffed. "I could date her anytime I wanted"

"_Please_." Lance said

"You'll see"

* * *

The afternoon was perfect. Link fed another carrot to Epona and she sped up. As the last rays of summer sun caressed his face and the wind ran through his golden hair, Link just felt right. There was something about riding - particularly riding Epona, his personal favorite horse - that made him feel at home. It was like he belonged, unlike anything he'd ever felt in school. It made him feel exactly like one of his dreams.

A flash of pink suddenly brought him back to the real world. Frankly, he didn't expect her to come. He guided Epona towards the stable and climbed down the saddle.

"About earlier today..." She said. He met her gaze for a second before she darted her eyes away, filled with guilt. "I'm sorry" Still no answer. She sighed. "It's just… do you mind keeping this between the two of us?"

"Didn't you already make that decision?" Link stroke Epona's hair, refusing to look at Zelda again. She narrowed her eyes.

"I guess so." She gently placed a hand on Link's shoulder and felt his muscle tense. He turned around and blinked. He didn't usually let people touch him… especially girls. "Just please. They wouldn't understand".

She was pleading with her eyes and Link wished he wasn't such a pushover. He tied Epona and went to get Zelda's usual horse. She let out a breath, relieved, and stepped back to give him some space.

"Great. So this is just between us." She paused for a moment. "Say…is that blue haired girl really your girlfriend?"

Link froze in the spot, eyes wide open. "Navi? Of course not. Why would you think that?"

"It's what Peach said. And you _do_ hang out with her a lot. And she is pretty…"

"She's just my friend!" He helped her up and turned the horse around. _Him and Navi, yeah right._

"Not so fast!" She yelled, covering her eyes with her hands. They weren't even moving.

* * *

High school wasn't _everything_ Sora hoped for, but it was alright. He had made a lot of friends and was doing well on tests and stuff. Kairi was surprisingly responsible and she was always encouraging him and his friends to do homework. She almost made up for the fact that Riku's new friends had taken into bullying him.

It's not like Riku wasn't hanging out with them anymore. He and Kairi were always more than welcome to spend lunch and free periods with Navi and Link's friends, and even Riku when he wasn't with those other jerks. Kairi _loved_ spending time with older kids, especially girls like Navi and she fit in perfectly. And, of course, Sora was fine with being wherever Kairi was, so yeah, it was alright.

He stuffed some books into his backpack and closed the locker. Kairi was chatting happily with Ash, Diddy and some other friends a few steps behind. He was so distracted by the way she was playing with her hair that he didn't even notice the two red heads coming until it was too late. He was pulled by one shoulder and smashed against the lockers on the other side of the wall and onto the floor.

"Take a picture. It lasts longer" One of the boys said without even looking at him and several people laughed. Some of them out of fear, Sora was sure. It was the third time this week. His friends rushed to help him up.

"Are you ok?" Kairi gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't mind them, Sora"

"Yeah, they're just jerks" Diddy added

Sora shook Kairi's hand off and stormed out, the same way the boys had gone, furious. He wasn't a coward. He wasn't afraid of them and he wasn't going to be made a fool of anymore.

* * *

_Him and Navi, yeah right_. What a stupid thing to say.

He was sitting on the table, feet resting on the bench. His elbows were placed on his knees and he held his head between his hands. Navi was reenacting something funny that had happened earlier that week. Link had no idea what it was, but he could tell it was funny, since his other friends were laughing.

She was moving her head back and forth and her blue hair was falling out of place, but she didn't seem to care. It had grown a little longer, but it wasn't nearly as long as Zelda's blonde hair. He knew he shouldn't be comparing the girls, but he couldn't help it.

Navi was wearing black leggins with black boots, a long loose white blouse and a light blue scarf that matched her eyes. He tried to picture her wearing a dress or a skirt and heels, anything Zelda would wear, but it was a hard exercise.

Zelda had said she was pretty. He guessed he couldn't really argue against that. Her skin looked soft, so did her pink lips. He stared as they opened into a big smile. That was nice too, and it brightened her whole face. Her eyes took a large portion of her face. It was kind of funny, seeing such a small person with such big eyes. She never wore make up, unlike Zelda, and her eyes were a different shade of blue. He had to admit she wasn't all that unpleasant to look at. And there was something about her eyes. Those deep blue eyes… were staring straight at him.

"Hellooooo? Do I have something on my face?"

She had placed her hands on her hips and had her eyes were locked on his, inquiring. Suddenly, he noticed she was really, _really_ close to him. Of course, invading personal space was a habit of hers, and since this was a regular, common situation that could happen anytime - him being lost in thought and her getting too close - he didn't owe her an explanation.

"Nope, just the usual" He climbed down from the table, hanged his backpack on one shoulder and started walking towards the school entrance.

"I swear to God…" He heard her yell from behind.

He cracked a smile, pleased to make her lose her temper, and kept walking calmly. A large group of kids were gathered right outside, blocking his way. _What the…_?

"What is your problem?!" He heard from the center. He pushed some people to make his way to the front.

"Are you talking to me?" He recognized G's voice and immediately turned around to leave. He didn't wish to be involved in anything to do with that guy.

"Of course I'm talking to you, _asshole_." The crowd fell silent. Now he was curious. He pushed forward to take a look at whoever was suicidal enough to pick up a fight with G and his friends. "Quit bothering me".

"You have some serious guts if you think you can stand up to me" G raised an eyebrow and Lance laughed. Link pushed a couple of kids out of his way and finally got to the center. Wasn't that Riku's little friend from the beach?

"I'm not afraid of you!" Sora raised a fist, defiant. The boys laughed again.

"Beat it, kid." Lance said. _Listen to him_, Link thought. "And while you're at it, stop following Riku, he's sick of you"

"Riku's my friend."

"_Please_. The only reason he talks to you is because he's sorry about what a loser you a…"

There was a collective gasp, as Sora's fist collided into G's stomach. Link caught sight of Kairi, staring in horror and Navi trying to get closer to her within the crowd. G pushed the kid away from him and made a fist. He charged backwards and went straight to Sora's face. The kid closed his eyes, there was no way he could have evaded the punch. _Dammit._

_"Fight! Fight! Fight!"_

A flash of green rushed forward, and before he knew it, Link was blocking G's fist with his arm. He lowered it violently, making G momentarily lose his balance.

"Knock it off" Link blurted, his eyes swords. G looked genuinely surprised, but quickly relaxed his expression.

"Stay out of this, _Peter Pan_" he smirked, staring at someone behind Link.

_Wha…_

"WATCH OUT!" He heard Navi's voice over the crowd. He felt himself being pulled backwards and fell. He heard a rip as the contents from his bag flew all over the place. Some notebooks, papers and pencils were scattered around, along with his ocarina. It rolled all the way over to G's foot. Link crawled forwards to grab it, but before he could even reach it, G stepped forward and crushed it. _Crushed it_. His precious ocarina's pieces went flying through the air. "Oh no…"

Link stood up, his expression unreadable. He could hear some echoes and figured it must be the boys laughing. He wasn't sure, since time seemed to have stopped. He felt his emotions overtake him slowly. His muscles tensed as he darted forward and he caught a flash of fear on G's eyes just before he collided fist first into him.

* * *

"You're not serious about the stable boy, are you Zelda?" Peach said, more than asked, while she examined her own face exhaustively in the bathroom mirror. Zelda covered her mouth with one hand and stared desperately from Peach to Daisy and back again. "_Are you?_"

"How did you…"

"His little friend told us" Daisy smirked. "We didn't believe it, but you confessed to it just now"

Zelda felt so stupid… Even more stupid than Daisy, and that was saying something.

"But of course," Peach spoke up again. "We know you can't be serious about him. I mean… come on."

"He's handsome" Daisy pointed out.

"He's a complete weirdo"

"And a loser"

"And he smells"

"He does not"

"He looks like he's hiding something all the time"

"You can't be serious"

"I'm not." Zelda finally said. "Of course not, what do you think?" Peach gave her a look. "I just thought it would drive G jealous".

Inside one of the bathrooms, blue eyes went wide. Kairi had thought about leaving quietly once the three girls came in, but she'd gotten curious once they started talking about Link.

"Is our friend a genius or what? Ohhh, you know what would be loads of fun?" Peach went on. "You could mess with the elf too."

"OMG you're going to make two people crazy jealous, this is gonna be great." Daisy laughed.

"You think that girl will be jealous too?" Zelda asked.

"Pleaaase. She's like totally in love with him, but of course, who would pick _that_ over you?" Peach's voice echoed as the three girls exited the bathroom.

Kairi grabbed her bag and pushed the door open. This was bad. She had to tell someone.

* * *

Detention…

It was a good thing they decided to separate the boys into two different classrooms, or else, they'd still be at each other's throats. As a result, Link and Sora got stuck with Miss Kotake while Lance and G were being watched by her twin sister Miss Koume. Link almost couldn't believe the world would be cruel enough as to make two of such foul creatures.

The teacher was snoring heavily. Link tried to stand up, as quietly as possible. All he needed to do was reach for his wallet and keys, just in front of him on the teacher's desk and then he would be out.

The woman snapped her eyes open and grimaced. Link automatically fell back into his desk. Sora choked down a laugh. Miss Kotake grunted, gathered the boys' stuff and stuffed it into a drawer in the desk. She held the key in front of them before locking it and standing up. Link smashed his head against his desk, while Sora followed the walking crooked nose with his gaze all the way to the classroom door.

"I'll be back" She threatened and left.

They heard her sister coming out of the other classroom as well and watched through the window as they left the building, followed by the two red haired boys, who shot a mocking look at Sora before running away into freedom. G's face was all swollen and had dry blood all over his shirt. Sora chuckled.

"What?" Link said, irritated

"You beat the shit out of them"

Link paused

"Yeah, well that'll teach them better than to mess with me". He turned his face away from Sora.

"I don't understand what Riku sees in them." He went on anyway. "Why would he want to be around people who are just…" He took a moment to consider. "What _is_ their deal, anyway?"

"They're just jerks"

"I wonder what happened to them". Sora kicked back, hands on his head. Link turned to face him

"What do you mean?"

"Well something _must_ have happened, right? I mean they can't just be bad out of nothing,"

"It's very…" _naïve_ "noble of you to think that".

"I just refuse to believe someone's heart can be pure darkness. There's always some light in there, somewhere". He stated.

"That's a strong thing to believe" Link let out a sigh. "You're brave, kid. And don't worry. Riku's gotta come into his senses sooner or later"

Man, this kid was genuinely concerned. Link had noticed Sora saw Riku as an older brother, a role model. It bothered him too, seeing one of his best friends so excited about dickheads, but he was kind of used to it. It wasn't the first time Riku went off with odd people, but he always came back in the end. Sometimes Link wondered what those people saw in Riku, rather than the other way around.

He glanced at the clock and shifted uncomfortably. _Zelda…_

"What is it?" Sora followed his gaze

"I have to… be somewhere"

"We could just go. I don't think they're coming back anytime soon".

"No, I need my stuff. She locked it inside the drawer".

Sora lowered his hand to his pocket and felt the key. Should he? The guy did seem like he was in a hurry. He took it out and studied it. Then finally let out a sigh and stood up.

"I can get them for you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone."

"What? How?"

"Just trust me. And I mean it, you can't tell _anyone_." Sora looked straight into his eyes and Link didn't dare to argue. He stood up and followed the kid, curious.

"Fine, I won't"

"Ok" He reached the drawer and held the key just above the lock. And paused. _Please, please, please don't tell anyone_. He stuck the key in and a white light glowered from the lock, as it clicked open. Link's mouth dropped.

"Where did you get that?" He asked while he gathered his stuff.

"I didn't steal it if that's what you're thinking" Sora replied, indignant

"I wasn't…"

"It's…" He paused and frowned. "It's hard to explain. It sort of came to me one night, in my sleep. I was dreaming of something like it and when I woke up it was there, in my hand. You don't have to believe me."

"I do" The words escaped Link's mouth before he even thought about them. But it was true. Sora smiled.

"Thank you." The two boys hurried out the door, careful not to be seen, but there was no one around. "Hey, why does everyone call that guy 'G'?"

"He has this stupid name, but threatened everyone not to call him by it, or else"

"What is it?"

"Ganondorf". Link made a face. Sora laughed, and Link had to admit, he did too.

* * *

"You told her?" Zelda stomped her way to where Link was standing, furious.

"What?" He was still panting for air, he just ran all the way from the school just to get there in time.

"You told _her_?" Her voice rang loud. "Peach told me your 'little friend' told mine about our secret, between us. Riding lessons. Now everyone knows!"

"Why are you so ashamed about riding?" Link asked, his voice calm.

"I'm not ashamed about _riding_." She scoffed. And then realized what she just said. Link stared at her in disbelief, one hand on the horse's saddle. He raised an eyebrow and waited. "Why would you tell her?"

"I tell Navi everything. Besides, I told her before we even started."

"You don't understand." She sounded utterly frustrated. "She's got this, like, major crush on you. She's obviously totally jealous, she's so possessive with you, and she only wants you for herself!"

Link took a moment to take in the words… That was… a lot.

"She doesn't… She's my best friend. And she acts like that with all her friends, not just me."

Pause

Zelda frowned.

"I'm sorry. It's just…Gah. I'll just have to deal with it".

_Deal with it?_ Link suddenly didn't feel like riding anymore.

"Hey…" She spoke up again. "I'm sorry about what my friends did to your ocarina."

He gazed at her. She did look sorry… She opened her purse and took a blue object out of it. She handed it to him, doubtful.

"I found this in my house." She said. "Take it."

Link stretched his hands and she placed it on them. It was a shiny brand new ocarina. It was beautiful.

"You…" He was struggling for words. He wasn't used to getting gifts. "You play?"

"Not really" She giggled. "Only this one tune my nanny used to play for me as a kid."

She took the instrument back and placed it in her mouth. As she blew softly and the notes started coming out, Link froze.

It was his melody.

_His_ melody. The one he'd always dreamt of.

It had to be a sign. It just had to be.


	4. Chapter 4: A strange feeling

The weekend came as a relief for all of them. No school, no bullies, no riding lessons, and no parties, for a change.

As an attempt to cheer up Sora - Link was very attentive when he wasn't lost in thought - Link had invited him and Riku to spent the Saturday evening at his house. Sora had been absolutely sure Riku would refuse the invitation, but he asked about his other friends, the boy had simply said:

"It's cool, I'm with you guys".

Sora had the hardest of times containing his enthusiasm, oblivious to the death glare Link was shooting at their white haired friend.

Sora had never been in such a place in his life. The whole house was entirely made of wood: the walls, the furniture, even the place where you put the mattress (whatever that's called). He could hear chickens and horses outside, there was enough space for them to goof around, and the woods were just ahead. He knew what people in school said about Link: he didn't own a lot of money. But as he examined some of the weapons hanging on the wall - for decoration purposes, obviously - he couldn't imagine anyone being unhappy in this place.

_Knife, slingshot, bow and arrows, boomerang, _hook shot? Strange choice… He stopped at the wooden swords and glanced at them in awe.

"Wanna try them?" Link and Riku exchanged a proud smirk.

"Sure!" Sora stepped back and Link grabbed two of them, then turned and motioned for the others to follow him outside, through the back door.

"Let's see how you fare". Link threw one of the training weapons and Sora caught it in the air, smiling devilishly. "Not bad."

Link grabbed his sword with the left hand and pointed it at Sora.

"Riku taught me everything I know." The kid said proudly as he took his place in a very good, yet not perfect position.

The boys started fighting slowly at first, weighing each other's moves. Riku watched them from the porch. He had to admit, this was kind of fun. For a moment there, it looked like Sora could really put up a fight, but then Link gave a stylish turn - he loved showing off at this kind of thing - and disarmed the kid. The sword fell near Riku's feet.

"And I taught _him_ everything _he _knows". Link stood tall and proud.

"Not everything…" Riku muttered.

The three of them laughed. Riku was next against Link. It was hard to believe, but the three boys were having fun together.

Meanwhile, three girls were having fun at the Koopa Café. Sure, tweeting, taking selfies and gossiping was a different kind of fun, but it was fun anyway. "So get this" Peach put her shake back in the table and read a text from her phone aloud. "The school was thinking about getting a school pet and the janitor suggested it should be a turtle. A _turtle_."

"OMG" Daisy covered her mouth with her hands "That is sooo scary"

"I know, right?" Peach looked truly concerned for her safety. Zelda rolled her eyes. This girls were afraid of everything. "Speaking of scary things… how's the horse boy, Zelda?"

"I thought you called him stable boy"

"Whatever, Daisy, it's not like he deserves a real nickname, anyway."

Daisy sank in her side of the booth. She was absolutely, positively sure that if they were boys, Peach would beat her up all the time for no reason and she couldn't be a match for her - even if Peach wore hills (still as a boy… wait, what?). Daisy's mind was kind of confusing, even for her.

"He's, like, fine." Zelda half replied, half sucked at her iced tea. "He doesn't talk much, so I don't know"

"Well, do you really expect someone like _that_ to know more than ten words?" The three girls laughed loudly. A clenched fist started trembling, pressed against the cushion on the next booth, back to back with Zelda. "What I'd pay to see that guy wearing a tux for prom"

"Do you imagine?"

"Like, as if"

"Ha, ha, ha, omg"

The waitress was headed over to their table, but her eye twitched when she heard the brilliant conversation and she decided shooting herself would be a better idea.

"Well, maybe you won't have to pay." Zelda had a shy smile on her face. The other girls went deadly quiet.

_What?_

"G's taking you to prom" Peach ordered, more than asked.

"He hasn't asked yet."

"But he totally will"

"Then he's gonna have some competition"

Peach and Daisy exchanged a look and smirked. It almost looked like they were plotting real evil deeds.

"I totally wanna see his face when he finds out why you're doing this"

"Oh he'll be devastated" Daisy fake- cried "You were the love of his life, Zelda, how could you be so mean?"

"He'll just have to get back to loving horses" Zelda said and they all started laughing again

Navi managed to stop her impulse to rip out the girl's blonde hair and feed it to her, just barely. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Kairi gave her a comforting squeeze and tilted her head towards the entrance. Navi noded. She had enough. She pulled her hat a little to make sure it covered her hair. It was growing longer than she usually let it, but she was kind of digging it.

The two girls practically slithered out of their seats and all the way to the door. A bunch of boys were coming in as they walked out. Two of them were red heads and they recognized the others from school as well. The girls made their best efforts to cover their faces. It should be easy, since they were both wearing sunglasses.

"Hot stuff" They heard one of them say as they passed. _Were they talking about them?_

"Who are they?"

"Who cares?" The boys laughed as they made their way to the Princesses' booth and demanded food.

* * *

The final bell rang and Navi felt like she was hovering all the way to the school front door, lost in thought. She wanted to get out before the other students came flooding out of their classrooms. Link was bound to come out sometime and she just had to wait outside.

At first she had felt stupid. Kairi had come to her Friday afternoon, claiming she had to tell her something horrible. Navi didn't have a hard time believing her words, it wasn't the first time she heard about the Princesses being mean to other people. But this was different. This was personal.

This was about Link.

Navi said she wanted to hear it firsthand and then Kairi insisted on them spying on the girls. Despite the blue haired girl's protest, Kairi 'disguised' both of them with hats and sunglasses and dragged her to the mall.

After the initial, completely embarrassing - this is so not gonna work - shock, the girls found themselves having a little fun. A couple hours later, no one had, in fact, recognized the girls, which made it easier for them to stalk their prey as they pleased.

Navi had had a conflicted time when it started to get dark and the Princesses hadn't even mentioned Link yet. Part of her had been obviously relieved that nothing bad was going on, but her inner child playing detective really wanted to solve the case. That until they followed the girls to the Koopa Café.

Now she was dwelling over something even worse: how was she going to tell him?

She knew Link wasn't that comfortable around girls. It was so unlike him to let a girl into his life. Of course, there was herself, but Link and Navi had been friends since they were about ten, so it didn't really count. She figured part of the reason was that he never had a mother (nor a father, but at least Mr. Deku was a male figure in his life). Also because girls tended to stare at him _a lot_. Not to blame them, Link had always been such a handsome kid and had grown even better.

He wore green well, she noticed when he saw him emerge from the crowd in his green hoodie and matching beenie. Sometimes she thought if he actually had money, he would be more like the Princesses and less like himself.

_Here it goes._

* * *

Link frowned, hands inside his pockets, as he walked side by side with Navi. He knew there was something wrong the instant the words "hey, listen" had escaped his friend's lips. It could only mean something really good or really bad, and judging by her tone, he had gone with the latter.

"What are you now, Navi the spy?" He asked after a long silence, more calmly that Navi had expected. They were heading towards the Deku stables. He had told her he couldn't be late for his riding lesson with Zelda, but she was more than welcome to walk with him. She had waited for a good few blocks before dropping the bomb.

"Link, didn't you hear what I just said?"

_That she isn't really interested in me? _Navi had spared him most of the details. He paused for a moment.

"Look, you have nothing to worry about." He said. "It's not like we're going out, I'm just teaching her how to ride a horse."

But she knew his friend better than that. She placed a hand on his shoulder and he didn't tense or anything.

"I just… don't want you to get hurt." That had come out a bit more dramatic than she thought. To her surprise, he laughed.

"Look at you, all worried about me." He messed her hair a little.

"Heey"

"Everything's fine". He said. They had reached the stables already. He turned to look at her and found what he feared: she wasn't convinced. She was smiling sadly at the ground, playing with a streak of blue hair. "So, you're spending quality time with Kairi now?"

"And you with Sora." She replied. "They make a cute couple, don't you think?"

"I suppose you could say that…" He started setting the horse for Zelda, while Navi rested on the fence, watching. "I doubt he'd ever do something about it, though. Help me out here"

She pushed herself forward from the fence heavily and started pacing towards Link. He walked over to the other side of the horse and threw a belt - "hold it tight" - and she had to stand on a bucket in order to reach it. Link rolled his eyes and tried to hide a laugh, coughing. She ran a hand through the animal's brown, soft fur. It seemed to like it.

"He's still young. He'll do something about it sooner or later"

"Still young?" Link finished with one side and came over to where Navi was standing. "And what are we, old? They're only a year younger than us."

"True. But they still seem a little childish to me." She gave him the belt and he started with that side.

"Kind of. I can't explain why, but I have a strange feeling about him." He paused for a moment. "Do you ever feel like there's something that you should know about, but you don't?" She lifted an eyebrow. "It's as if… As if you were losing something you didn't even know you had. Do you think I'm crazy?"

He turned to look at her. Her expression serious, her hands at her hips.

"I've always thought you're crazy."

He half smiled and kicked the bucket she was standing on, softly. Or so he thought.

She lost balance, yelled and started waving her arms, trying to stabilize herself. The horse ran away, scared by all the noise and movement, which only made it worse. Link hurried towards her and stood where the horse had been not a second ago. He caught her half way to the ground and cushioned the fall with his own body.

There was something odd about this.

He had instinctively wrapped a hand around her waist and pulled forward so she would fall on that side and not the other one. However, once they were safely on the floor, his firm grip hadn't lessened. He could have never told by the way she dressed - all the lose blouses, long shirts and big coats -, but she actually had a nice body.

Suddenly, he became too aware of the situation. She was on top of him, her hands on his chest, her legs sprawled upon his and his body refused to obey his brain's desperate orders to move. They were both staring deep into each other's eyes, still in shock. Their faces inches apart, lips parted. Was he leaning forward?

"Ahem"

Two faces turned around and blinked at the sight of a blonde girl standing with her arms crossed and tapping her foot.

Navi pushed herself up in one jump, at the same time straightening her hair and her clothes as fast as she could. Link felt stupidly guilty. Why was he feeling guilty? He wasn't _doing _anything. He felt the warmth spreading all over his face and turn away, trying to stand up as less awkwardly as possible.

"I'll, uh, go get the horse". He made the mistake of briefly meeting Zelda's gaze. She looked furious. There was nothing to be pissed off about. She was falling. He caught her. End of story. I mean, sure, they may have lingered for a little longer than necessary and he may have noticed she smelled nice, but that was no reason to get upset.

What right did she have to get upset, anyway? And why did he feel so guilty? And where did the damn horse go? And why couldn't he stop blushing?!

He brought the animal back to the house, to where the girls were standing.

"What is _she_ doing here?" Zelda asked. He noticed the question was directed to him, instead of Navi, as if she wasn't there. The girl took the hint… and stepped all over it.

"_I _was helping Link set up everything for your lesson." She said in the same tone.

"Well, everything looks done to me. That means it's time for you to go."

Link tensed. He knew his best friend more than anyone in the world. He knew exactly how she reacted to that kind of treatment, especially coming from someone like _Princess _Zelda. One of the things he admired about her was how she never let people disrespect her. In this particular case, however, he met her gaze (was she blushing too?) and _begged_ her to please, please, please not explode.

She took a deep breath and puffed her cheeks.

"I guess it is." She finally said. She started rocking her arms back and forth, while cautiously stepping away. "So, have a nice class and see you later. I mean tomorrow… maybe. Not later. Alright, bye."

_Thank you._ Link mouthed at Navi, helping Zelda up the horse. Navi raised a hand and turned to walk away, when she heard something moving around the hay.

"Wait, wait!" Zelda shrieked. "What was that?"

"Nothing, Probably just a rat" Link replied in a low voice.

"A rat?! I can't concentrate with a rat lurking the place. Please, please, please get rid of it."

Link and Navi rolled their eyes at the same time. He sighed and leaned over to see what the fuzz was about. He didn't want to leave Zelda alone on the horse.

"It's ok, I got it" Navi said, walking back to examine the place. "It's nothing."

"Oh, good." Zelda had a hand on her chest, clutching her hart.

"Just a chicken. It must have escaped the pen."

Link's eye twitched. _A chicken?_

"Get. It. OUT. GET THAT CREATURE AWAY FROM ME"

He wasn't very fond of chickens.

* * *

Sora was screaming in his sleep again. He got lucky this time and woke up before his parents. He already ran out of horror stories to tell them instead of his real nightmares.

He had the giant key in his hands and he was fighting, but this time not against the shadows. Against Riku. Over Kairi. In the middle of the fight, Riku turned into someone else and suddenly he turned into the shadow. His own friends -people who in real life he had no idea he had never met, but seemed really fond of during the dreams- wouldn't recognize him. And then he started falling again, it was like being swallowed by the darkness.

That was weird. Why would he ever be fighting Riku, his best friend? That was impossible. Whatever. It was just a dream.

He sat up in the bed and ran a hand through his slightly wet hair. He seriously needed to tell someone. But it had to be someone who had nothing to do with the dreams, so Riku and Kairi were not a possibility.

He sighed and went for the window. He stared at the black sky, sprinkled by so many stars and wondered what it would be like to visit one.

Out in the woods, another pair of blue eyes was staring at the stars. Link was resting against that big boulder he had found Sora sleeping by that day.

_Nothing happened_. So why was he still thinking about it?

He sighed. This was useless. He took out the ocarina and considered for a moment. He did not feel like playing the one that reminded him of Zelda. He held the instrument up in his hands, against the stars, and examined it. It looked more expensive than the one Saria had given him. How was that tune she'd showed him, again?

It was like… No, more like… Hmm…

He placed it on his mouth and started playing some random notes, at the same time trying to remember the melody. After a little while, he almost got it. It was a little more upbeat than his usual melodies, but equally as nice.

Yeah, that was it. Since all the songs he knew started with repeating the first three notes, they kind of came easy to remember. Even if ten years had passed.

He sighed, pocketed the ocarina and stood up to leave. He needed to get some sleep before school tomorrow. He shook the grass out of his pants and was about to take the first step when something caught her eye.

It was a little girl, all dressed in green, with green hair and blue eyes. For all the fantasy movies Link had seen, the first thought that popped into his mind was that if there was such thing as the spirit of the forest, this was it. But that was absurd.

"Are you lost?" He asked. There was something familiar about her… He could have sworn he had seen her before, somewhere. _Wait__…_"Saria?"

* * *

The sound of his phone vibrating against the wooden nightstand woke him up. It was a text from Sora:

'Meet me at the spot'

And then another one.

'Please?'

Link rubbed his eyes, his vision was still a little blurry. He was tired… How could he not be? He had spent the previous night thinking about girls. He got up and started walking downstairs. And what 'spot'? Did he mean the place with the boulder? Was that 'the spot' now?

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide open. Should he even… go back to that place, after last night?

Nothing had actually happened, but… After calling the girl's name, she had let out a shy smile. He turned around to see if anyone else was there, but when he turned back, she was gone. It had to be his mind playing tricks on him. He had been tired, and also he had been thinking about her. And also, _also_ it was impossible. The girl he'd seen last night was a clear fragment of his memories. Had it been the real Saria, she must have been seven years older. She must have grown up… right?

Ok, now he was being ridiculous. Of course everyone grew up. He shook the thought out of his head and poured some coffee into his cup. He finished it all in one drink and grabbed his backpack before heading outside.

Sora was already there. Link found him sitting on the rock, feet dangling a few inches above the ground, working on a paper on his lap.

"Homework?" He greeted. Sora lifted his head and grinned. He didn't want to admit it now, but he had the slightest of feelings that maybe he wouldn't come. He took of a pair of earphones Link hadn't seen before and stuffed it all in his backpack.

"Yeah. I forgot this is due today. I've had a lot on my mind." He replied.

Link stood against a tree and looked around a little… just in case.

"So, what is it?" Link asked casually. Sora's expression immediately fell. He opened his mouth and closed it several times, obviously struggling for the right words. How could he put this in order to not sound so crazy?

"I've been having these weird thoughts lately". He finally said, staring blankly at the ground. "Like, is any of this real… or not?"

He paused.

"Come again?" Link raised an eyebrow. Sora sighed. Yeah, that came out weird.

"Just… Sometimes I get this feeling like there's something I'm missing. Something bigger I should be doing, besides this."

_What? That I should be doing something far greater than school? That I should be worrying about something worse than girls? _

"Like there's this something you should know about" _That everyone else is unaware of. _"And you could do so much if given the right opportunity to prove yourself. And when you do stuff you like, you kind of feel…" _Closer to it_. "And in a way, you want to wake up everybody and scream 'Stop this!', cause everything they're doing… this life they're living seems…" _irrelevant. But no one would get it. _"You know what I mean, right?"

…

"I have no idea what you mean"

Sora sighed. He had been so sure Link could feel it too… Oh, well.

"Why'd come looking for me, anyway?" Link asked. "Why not any of your other friends?"

"They wouldn't take it seriously. Maybe you don't feel the exact same way, but you don't seem to think I'm crazy either."

"I don't."

A moment passed in silence. Link hesitantly took out his ocarina and started playing his usual melody. After going over it one time, he curiously looked around, half expecting something to happen. But nothing did.

"That's pretty." Sora's words cut through Link's thought. "How is it called? The song."

Link considered for a moment. "Zelda's Lullaby."

"Can I try it?" Sora asked, extending his arm towards Link. He placed the ocarina in his hand and let it go. Sora wiped the mouth piece with his sleeve and blew. After a few tries, he was getting the hang of it. He started playing a little melody of his own.

"How do you call that one?" Link asked, a little impressed.

Sora shrugged.

"Dearly beloved."

"You have really big feet, man"

"And you have weird pointy ears".


	5. Chapter 5: The dare

Link and Sora had made out of these encounters a usual thing. Whenever they weren't doing homework or giving Zelda a riding lesson, they met up at that spot by the boulder and hang out. They talked about school, about life, complained about the increasing cold and homework. Sometimes Link even brought his wooden swords and the boys would practice their fighting, just for fun. Sora was having such a nice time with his other friends and Kairi as well, that he almost didn't feel Riku's more pronounced absence anymore.

Out in the distance, many curious eyes watched them closely.

"Do it now".

"No, not yet."

"The bond isn't strong enough".

* * *

Tonight was Diddy's birthday party and Sora was really excited. He and Kairi had gone to the mall to buy presents earlier, then split up on the way home. When he arrived at the Kong's house, Kairi was already there.

There were several other people chatting, music playing, pizza boxes stacked on the table and a six pack of beer.

"My uncle gave it to me as a present." Diddy had announced proudly. "Take a look! Six cans of beer! Well, actually five. He drank one himself."

The kids sat on the living room couches, seats and floor, making a circle so they could all see each other. Diddy opened a can (_"Does anyone know how to open..." Splash. "Ugh, oh, never mind. I'll get the next one right. Someone help me wipe the floor, please?")_, took a sip and passed it around.

Sora watched how everyone took their sips, made strange faces and then passed it to another person. It finally got to his hand. It still felt heavy.

"I think I'll pass" He said and passed the can, but the next hand wouldn't take it.

"Oh, come on, Sora."

"Just one sip"

"You'll like it."

"For my birthday"

He was about to politely decline once again, when someone snatched the can out of his hand. Kairi sat back on her seat, on the opposite side of the room, and drank deeper than anyone had until then. She coughed and then chuckled. The crowd was cheering and clapping.

"It's not so bad." She waved the can at Sora.

"Gimme that." He grabbed it with both hands and put it on his mouth. It smelled weird… and tasted horrible. It felt like drinking gas. He stick out his tongue in disgust and the others laughed. Why did people like this?

A few blocks away, another party was going on. Navi was sitting on a pool table at the backyard of Red's house, surrounded by some boys and girls - mostly boys, Link noticed-. All of them were laughing and chatting.

Link sighed and took out his phone. At that instant, it started vibrating. Isn't it awesome when that happens? It was a text… from Zelda. He opened it and frowned.

The song ended and a new, more upbeat one started. The group around Navi ran inside, past Link, and started dancing. Navi was about to climb down from the table when she saw him hurrying her way.

"What's up?" She said, lively

"Zelda just texted me." He kind of enjoyed her grimace when he pronounced the name. "Apparently there's this thing at Riku's house."

"Riku's house?" She frowned. "Did _he_ say anything?"

"Not to me… But since she asked me to go, it must be cool with him."

She got down and started walking inside, towards the couch where a bunch of clothing was stack. She started pushing some aside. "Let me get my coat."

"Uhm…" Link placed a hand on her arm, making her stop. "She only invited _me._"

Navi blinked.

"Oh?" She crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow

"I just wanted you to know." He said, cautiously. He stared at her, trying to read her expression, but it was impossible. "I could always… not go. And stay here, you know, if you wanted me to".

"No, no. It's fine. That's cool. You go. I'll stay. No big deal."

"Are you sure?"

"What am I, your mother? Just go, if you feel like it.

He paused.

"Fine, then. I probably won't stay too late, though."

"Whatever, bye."

"Bye."

She watched him open the door and leave, without moving from her spot. _Pffft. Zelda._

"You're not leaving so soon, are you?"

She turned around and saw the owner of the house staring down at her with his red cap, which seemed glued to his head by this point.

"Oh, no." She noticed she was still clutching at her coat. "I was just cold. But I'm not. Anymore." She dropped let it sink into the other coats and purses.

"Great. Wanna dance?"

* * *

"Ok, ok, my turn." One of the girls sitting across Sora said, holding the can. After a couple of shy rounds of 'Never have I ever', they had started taking it into a more personal level. "Never have I ever yelled 'please marry me' at a TV screen!"

They ooh'd, ahh'd and laughed as the girl pointed at Kairi with the can. She giggled and drank another sip.

"Who did you yell 'please marry me' to?"

"Only Colin O'donoghue". She said matter-of-factly. Sora's head perched up.

"Who is that?" He asked.

"The guy who plays captain Hook in Once Upon a Time."

"Oh, those gorgeous blue eyes." Sora had blue eyes…

"And his four day length beard" He rubbed at his chin. He swore he could feel some hair under there… somewhere.

"Let's play truth or dare, now." Someone suggested and everyone approved. "hmmmm Sora, truth or dare?"

"Dare." He answered straight away. He didn't want to risk dealing with the question 'who do you like'.

"I dare you to point at the girl you like right now."

_Damnit_.

"Wait, that doesn't count." Someone else said. "That's practically a truth"

_God bless that person_

"Fine then… I dare you to take a sip for every one of the letters that spell your crush's name". The girl offered him the last can of beer.

He took it and drank.

"One… two… three… four… five…" several girls started counting letters from their own names in their minds.

It didn't taste so bad anymore. It was his turn. "Tammy, truth or dare."

"Dare."

"I dare you to take off your shoes. With your mouth." Everyone started laughing, and he smirked.

The girl ran a hand trough her hair, trying to gather enough strength to complete the ridiculous task. She tried to bend over several times, but she kept laughing with everyone else and it was just impossible.

"I can't." she finally admitted.

"You know the rules, if you don't complete the task, you get assigned a worse one."

"Bring it."

Kairi spoke up first. "Alright, then. You have to go and sit on the lap of a boy you like."

"Fine, I'm not embarrassed."

"And kiss him"

"What who said that?"

"What, are you scared?"

"I'm not! I'll totally do it."

"Let's see."

She stood up and took a look around, pursing her lips. Everyone started encouraging her to go ahead. Sora turned to stare at Kairi. She was having so much fun, and he was glad. Suddenly, his view was interrupted by someone.

It took him totally and completely by surprise. Tammy sat on his lap, blushing, and pecked him on the cheek. Then she jumped up almost instantly and went back to her sit. He blinked in surprise, blushing like crazy. Everyone started yelling and laughing. Everyone except Kairi. She gave him a strange look. And he felt awesome.

* * *

The bell rang and three female heads closed in and started giggling.

"Oh my gosh, Zelda, I can't believe he came." Daisy said.

"Does he even know G's here?" Peach asked

"I don't know. Shh. I think he's here."

Riku opened the door and saw his best friend turned to leave.

"Link?"

He turned around and paced forward. "Hey, Riku. Uhm, Zelda texted me. She said I could come over, but… I was already at this thing at Red's so, I'll just…"

It felt so weird, asking him permission to come inside his house.

"No, no, it's alright. It's cool, you can come in." He left the door open and walked back to his friends. Link recognized most of the people from school - not that there were many of them -, but there was a couple of guys and girls he had never seen before. He spotted Zelda sitting on the couch with her two friends. He met her gaze, but she immediately turned away. Her friends giggled.

Ugh, he shouldn't have come. He should have stayed with Navi. He glanced over at Riku's group. He was leaning against the wall next to the speakers, where four other guys were talking. Lance and G were among them.

aafshgksrgjsrlgjrlhj

Link started walking towards them, but changed his mind and stopped at the table where the drinks were, just beside them. He got a cup and started pouring some soda into it, making his best effort not to eavesdrop their conversation. And failing.

"What honey are you taking to prom, Riku?" One of the guys asked.

"I haven't thought about it yet." He replied.

"Hurry up before all the good ones are gone".

_Prom? _Link hadn't even thought about prom until now. The person who had spent endless nights designing the Prom ads and pasting them all over school suddenly felt like he had failed as a human being.

"I thought you were taking the redhead." He could recognize G's voice without even looking.

"I told you I haven't thought about it."

"Afraid she'll say no?"

"Of course not."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

Link felt his friend tensing as if it were happening to himself. He accidentally took a step backwards and bumped into one of the boys.

"Hey, watch it"

And got Riku's attention. He tilted his head to the side, indicating for him to follow and went into the kitchen. Riku closed the door behind him and let out a heavy breath, his expression troubled.

"What are you doing?" Link snapped at him

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me, I know you better than that." Riku was refusing to make eye contact.

"Look, I kind of told the guys she was totally into me. So what if it isn't true? It's not like I'm gonna make her or anything." He waited for an answer, but Link's lips didn't even twitch. "It's just prom…"

"Really? What if those guys dared you to make out with her?"

"Chill out, she's still my friend."

"Then leave her alone"

"It's _just prom_"

"You know how Sora feels about her." That came out a little louder than it needed be. Riku's mouth dropped. "You hadn't even thought about it, had you?"

"It's just a stupid dance."

"Whatever, do what you want". He walked towards the door, his back to his white haired friend. "Just keep in mind who your real friends are."

* * *

"We had a great time, thanks."

"See you on Monday"

Diddy closed the door and Sora and Kairi started walking away from it. After a couple of more games, she had come to him and said she wasn't feeling too well and asked him to walk her home. He had to admit, he was feeling a liiiiiittle dizzy himself.

Kairi was clutching at her own arms, staring at the floor while she walked. It was a cold night. Sora took off his jacket and put it on her shoulders. She jumped a little, he had taken her by surprise. Then she started giggling.

To Sora, it felt like flying every time she laughed.

"What?" He asked curiously.

"Huh? Oh nothing, I just had a lot of fun." She said.

He had been waiting for her to bring up that thing that happened with Tammy, but she never did. They just kept walking in silence for a while side by side.

Suddenly, she closed the distance and hugged him.

"I really like you. You know that, right?"

Sora was dead. He was sure of it. He had to be dead, he just died, that was it.

They resumed their pace and she dropped her hands. Her left hand brushed softly against his right one.

And he took it.

Butterflies took possession of his stomach as she lightly squeezed his hand. He was holding her hand… and it had nothing to do with the fact that they had drunk almost one can of beer each, he decided, or the fact that they were completely alone in the dim light street. No, he could do this anytime.

He so should have done this before…


	6. Chapter 6: When you walk away

"He asked you to prom?" Sora had tried not to sound as hurt as he truly was. He was standing right beside Kairi's locker, waiting for her to finish putting her things awa.y "But I… We… I thought…"

_I thought you liked me._

"He's still one of my best friends, Sora, even though we don't see a lot of him anymore." She closed the locker and sighed. Then offered Sora a nice comforting smile. "It's just a dance. Plus, I get to wear a pretty dress".

She swung her bag on one shoulder and they started walking towards their next class.

"I know but… why _you_?"

She stopped to face him and raised an eyebrow. "What is wrong with me?"

"Kairi, nothing's wrong with you. That's not what I meant." He sighed heavily, staring at the floor. There was a knot in his stomach and he could feel a warmth growing inside his eyes. A hand gently brushed his cheek and Kairi bended so she could meet his gaze.

"It's just prom, Sora" She said.

But it wasn't just prom. Riku had plenty of new friends. Why couldn't he ask one of them? He flinched.

Kairi would be spending the night with Riku's friends. Those read head stupid jerks. Sora didn't want Kairi anywhere near them. He held the door open for her and took out his phone with the other hand.

* * *

Link was sitting on the table, surrounded by some friends. He was only half listening to Navi, while she loudly commented something to them.

Zelda hadn't even talked to him at Riku's house. Their riding lessons weren't a secret anymore, and why would she ask him to come if she wasn't even going to talk to him? Girls were weird… He should have thought…

Something Navi said caught his attention. _Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait._

"He what?" Link snapped at her, taking everyone by surprise. They all fell silent.

"He asked me to go to prom with him" Navi's hands were at her hips.

"What? When? Why- What did you say?"

"I said yes, of course…"

"What? Why, why, would you… Prom. Do you… Do you even own any dresses?" Little by little, their other friends started scurrying away to the sides. This was awkward.

"As a matter of fact I do"

"No, I've never seen you wear a dress" He snorted.

"You've never seen me shower either, that doesn't mean that I don't do it. I'd obviously be buying a dress for the occasion"

"Oh, so you're gonna buy a fancy dress and put on some make up only to go to prom with Red."

"Yeah… so?"

"So. So." He was out of ammo. "When did this even happen?"

Navi crossed her arms, a concerned expression on her face.

"Ok, seriously, what is it with you?"

"With me?" Link finally stood up, stepping closer to her and she took a step back. "No, you don't even get the right to be upset over this. You gave me the same shit when I started giving Zelda riding lessons and it was just lessons, for fuck's sake."

She raised her hands and motioned him to stop, a little frightened.

"Woah, woah. Calm. Down. Don't talk to me like that. Those girls are bad news, Link. You know Red. He's a cool guy, what is wrong with us going together?"

_Hah. What is wrong. What is wrong? You want to know what is wrong? EVERYTHING._

He clenched his jaw and turned around, then started walking to the opposite direction of the school. He took out his phone and texted, and got a text back just as he sent his.

'Meet at the spot'

* * *

Sora was sitting on the rock while Link paced back and forth just in front of him, grunting and growling and clenching his fists.

"Can you believe it?" He said to no one in particular. "She even said yes. She's going to prom with him"

Sora had a puzzled look on his face. "Uhm, yeah… so what?"

"So what? They're gonna go _together_." He let himself fall on the ground.

"I thought you guys were just friends."

"We are." he mumbled

"Then why does it bother you so much?"

"It _doesn't_"

Sora stared at him for a moment. The poor guy looked so conflicted… "You should have asked her first, then"

Link snapped his head at him, eyes like daggers and his mouth open to say something. Sora covered his face with his arm, just in case. But then the boy relaxed and his eyes were lost again.

"I don't…" He sighed. "He's a cool guy. They'd make a good couple."

"They don't have to make a couple. It's just prom." _Right?_

"I guess." Link finally loosened his muscles. "She said she's gonna buy a dress and everything." He sighed again. "Pfft."

"What?"

"I just remembered one time we went skiing with the whole class. She bought a special snow jacket, but got the last one in the store and it was a large size. It was white, I remember, and really, really big and puffy. She looked like a freaking snowball."

He may not have realized it, but at this point he was half smiling.

"Growing up sucks."

Sora rested his head on his hands. "Tell me about it".

* * *

After giving Zelda a couple of laps with the horse - she had gotten better at it. Not good, but a little better, at least - he found himself talking about Navi again.

"And then Red asked her to go to prom with him. And she said _yes_."

"And?" Zelda asked, uninterested

"And that's it." He said. "They're going together."

"Red, that's the guy who always wears a cap, right?"

"Yeah…"

"He doesn't seem so bad"

"He isn't."

"Not for someone like her, at least."

Link stopped the horse involuntarily. It made the girl lose balance for a moment.

"What do you mean 'someone like her'?" He asked

"She's… she's weird, Link." She wrinkled her nose. "She's like, tiny and she has the most annoying voice. And she dresses funny and… I duuno, she's weird."

"Yeah." He turned his gaze to the ground. "I suppose she is."

She cleared her throat and motioned at him to help her down from the horse.

"So speaking of prom…" She started while straightening her clothes. "Are you planning to go?"

"Me?" That took him completely by surprise. Damn, he had been so busy worrying about Navi and Riku and Sora and everyone else that he hadn't even thought about himself. He suddenly felt stupid. "I don't even have a tux."

Zelda put a hand on her mouth and giggled, swinging her head side to side. "You're so cute, I swear to god"

He blushed and looked away. Should he ask her to go together? Was she expecting him to?

* * *

On Saturday morning, he found out he didn't even have to ask. He was surfing the internet with pure educational purposes (not) when he heard Mr. Deku's deep voice from downstairs.

"Link, come down. A, uh, delivery has come for you."

Delivery? He didn't order anything…

Mr. Deku was in the middle of closing the door by the time Link emerged from the stairs. He was holding something up in the air with his other hand. It was wrapped in a plastic bag. Link carefully received it and started examining the wrap. There was a pink note pasted on it:

'Pick me up at 8 ~ Z.'

He put the pink post it – it smelled like her perfume – on the table and unwrapped the thing, leaving only clothes held up on a hangar.

It was a suit… and a very neat one. It was all black, with a white shirt and a green tie. He had never bought a suit in his life, but he figured if he ever had the need (or the money) this would have been his only choice. She had even added a bag with matching shoes.

Suddenly he found himself looking forward to this 'prom' thing. He couldn't even imagine his friends face when they saw him wearing a suit. What would Navi say?

Oh, right… She'd probably be very busy with her own date.

He placed it gently over the couch, passed by a half stunned Mr. Deku and headed outside for the stables. The morning was cool, but the sky was clear, which meant probably no rain today –for which every teenage girl already walking into a salon was thankful.

Instead of walking all the way to the stables himself, he took out the ocarina and started playing a song. After a few seconds, Epona was galloping happily towards him. She was such an intelligent animal. He was up in one jump and guided her around to run a few laps before breakfast.

His lips curved into a pleased smile when he felt the cool wind running though his golden hair and made him shiver. He bounced up and down whenever Epona hopped to pass an obstacle and wondered how high she could jump. Maybe someday she would even be able to jump up the fence and then they would be free to run away, into the world.

* * *

It was a very, VERY long day.

Boys and girls all over the city were freaking out. They were buying last minute flowers, last minute dresses, making last minute appointments with packed up salons and arguing with their parents over nothing.

Two girls in particular -one with blue and the other with red hair - were having the best day ever. They had gone shopping together and tried literally every dress in every store, even the worst ones. Night had come all too soon for them and now they were rushing with last minutes pictures, makeup and hair flaws, whatever that wasn't perfect.

Near the farthest house, the one closer to the woods, a boy was in a completely different rush. Sora held a hand upon his chest and tried to steady his heart beat. That proved impossible. He walked up Link's porch and was about to knock the door, when it opened from the inside.

Link froze halfway out the door. "Sora? What are you doing here?"

"I…" His jaw dropped. Was Link really wearing a suit? Wow, he looked… manly. He tried to shake it off, but it was just too weird. Link rolled his eyes.

"Did you have something to say? I'm already running late." He started walking towards the street and Sora had to run a little to keep up.

"I just wanted to ask you if you could…" He sighed. This was embarrassing. "Please keep an eye on Kairi. _Please_"

He had originally intended to ask him to keep watch on Riku's friends, but the way it came out, it sounded like he wanted to keep her from Riku himself. And maybe he did. To Link it sounded like he wanted to receive constant texts about what they were doing and how far it got, and he was really not up to the task.

"You know what?" He stopped walking and turned. They were really close to the school now, but he had to pick up Zelda first. "The dance is being held at the school gym. The school is really not that hard to break into."

He gave Sora a look, making sure he got the message. _Good_. They nodded at each other and Link resumed his way, while Sora stayed behind.

He took a few deep breaths before ringing the bell. _Calm down. It's just a dance_. He ran a hand through his hair -it felt weird to wear it lose- and watched the door open.

Zelda was a very pretty girl, he had to admit. She was wearing a pink corset over a long white skirt that hung all the way to the floor, a golden necklace resting on her chest. He hair was done in a lose braid that rested on one shoulder, and the person who did the makeup really deserved a candy for managing to bring out her eyes in that way.

"You look really pretty". He mumbled.

She chuckled, covering her mouth with one hand -this was a cute little habit of hers- and walked over to grab his tie. "You got it wrong, silly."

He blushed while she worked on his tie and then remembered something.

"Oh, Here." He raised his hand and held the flower in front of her. He had had no idea what people were supposed to do in this kind of event. Normally, he would have had Navi talking about every detail at every hour of every day, but they hadn't been seeing each other that often these days, so he had no other option but to take Mr. Deku's advice. She looked surprised.

"Wow, corsage and everything." She took the flower and pinned it on one side of the dress. The white petals made a smooth contrast with the pink fabric of her corset. "You seem like more of a gentleman than my friends say."

"Uh… thanks?"

He would have been fine with walking to the school, but her heels were a little higher than usual and she wanted to spend as less time on her feet as possible. That probably meant as little dancing as possible. Score. They ended up taking one of Zelda's limos.

Link had never seen the school look like this. He had come at night for plays, music festivals, Christmas shows, but they had never put that much effort into it. The theme was 'Dance along the stars' or something. Ridiculous as it sounded, they had really outdone themselves.

A path of candles lead all the way from the entrance, through the hallway and to the gym doors. And a glittery 'milky way' was pasted on the roof, signaling the same path. They took the couples' picture against a night sky backing. There were a few couples in like before Link and Zelda and he spotted Kairi and Riku coming after them while they waited.

Kairi was wearing a short purple dress, very simple, and high boots with a little hill. Riku wore an entirely black suit, which made an amazing contrast with his white longish hair. He made her look like a child.

For a moment, Link felt the need to give him a hug, or at least a good handshake and brag about how kick ass they looked, like when they were kids. He had to contempt himself with a distant nod. This was awful.

It was their turn to take the picture. He managed a little smile, although he didn't feel like it in the least. They left the spot for the next couple and started inside the gym. The place looked good. The lights were dim, there was a stage with instruments for later, there were tables scattered all around the court and lots of boys and girls in fancy suits and dresses. The decoration still followed the stars pattern thing, which made everyone glimmer.

"OMG" he heard Zelda gasp.

"It's really something, isn't it…?" He turned to look at her, but she had her back turned, facing the entrance which they had just walked through. He regretted for every moment of his life that he couldn't resist the urge to follow her gaze.

The moon just came into the gym. The moon came down from the sky and entered the dance. There was no other explanation for what he was seeing.

Navi was grinning at the camera, posing for the picture. The blue fabric of her dress seemed to hug her body, more than just cover it. It looked soft and bright and enhanced her curves every time she moved. The cloth fell from her hips and down her legs, shorter on the front and longer on the back, until it was inches from the floor, from where she stood wearing silver heels.

Alright, but she had definitely never worn high heels before. Maybe she was clumsy on them. Maybe she'd fall, rip her dress, somehow lose the makeup and mess up the hair and en up face first on a puddle of mud.

A hand took hers and held it up to help her up a couple of stairs. She moved so gracefully, it seemed like she was hovering. He suddenly felt numb.

She looked like a freaking angel.

Red was still holding up her hand when they approached them. He was wearing a white shirt and a red vest underneath his black jacket. He didn't have his usual cap on, so his black, messy hair was loose. He looked great. And they looked amazing together.

"Isn't she a vision?" Red spun her around in front of them. Her hair fell slightly out of place and the turn made her dress lift a little. She laughed, trying to keep her balance.

_Damnit_.

"You look nice." Zelda said without interest. Link kept quiet. "I think I see Peach"

He felt himself being pulled by the arm and dragged away from the most beautiful thing he'd seen in all his life. This couldn't be happening.

* * *

Dinner was alright… They served pasta and he had to sit there and listen to the girls gossip and talk about other girls' dresses. Riku and his friends were sitting at another table, not so further away. He wondered why they hadn't put them all together.

This was all going to be over soon. A couple of drinks, a couple of dances and then he'd be home, he decided. The fact that Zelda kept scurrying away with her friends didn't help his constant need to check on Navi and Red. He spotted them on the dance floor, close to their table and surrounded by other friends. They were all dancing as a group. He waited for the song to finish and pleaded to heavens that she wanted to sit down. She did and he saw Red motioning at the drinks table.

Bingo.

He made his way across the gym and all the way to their table. Kairi was there too, alone. He greeted all of them, and they happily greet him hack.

"Check it out"

"Link in a suit"

"You look good man"

"Yeah, you too."

"There's something I thought I'd never see". Navi's voice cut across the others. He flinched. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." _What?_ She raised an eyebrow. "I mean… you look well. I mean nice."

"Thanks." She smiled proudly.

Red came back with two cups of punch and placed them on the table. He looked so pleased with himself it almost made Link want to kick him in the balls.

"How's it going?" He said casually. The two of them shrugged. "Oh, did you guys want to dance?"

Link was about to politely decline when he heard her say "Sure" and went completely still. _Dance?_

He instinctively offer her a hand and she stood up, taking it. Red took her seat and watched them with the same smile. He was such a cool guy. She totally deserved him.

"I don't dance" He admitted while letting Navi lead him to the dance floor

"It's prom, stupid." She made her way between other students as a new song started. This one was slower than the last.

"I noticed… so?"

"So I get a dance with you an Riku. It's, like, the law." She stopped at a decent spot and sighed. "Well, at least with you."

She put one of his hands on her shoulder and the other around her waist. He flinched at the contact. "What are you…?"

And she rolled her eyes. "Honestly?"

He had no idea how, but they started moving. He kept staring at his own feet, trying to keep up with her pace and trying harder to stop blushing. The dress _was _as soft as it looked like and even here, in the dark, surrounded by other students, she stood out as if all the lights were upon her.

"You look nice." He mumbled.

"You said that." She struggled a little when he missed a step, but resumed a bit slower.

"Red looks good too." He just had to admit it.

"Ok, now you're being weird."

"I mean you look good together." He instantly regretted saying that. He noticed how she lowered her hear a little bit to hide a blush.

"Oh… thanks?" They fell silent for a moment. He was looking straight at her, but her gaze was focused elsewhere. "Zelda looks pretty good too."

"Yeah, I've never seen her wear a pink dress before." He said, sarcastically and they both laughed. He made her laugh

"And you…" She said. He wasn't sure if that was it or if she had something more to say, but decided against it. _Me what? Me what?_ "So how are things going with you two?"

"What do you mean?" Did she seriously just ask him about his barely existent relationship with Zelda?

"Are you, like, dating now?"

"What?" He missed more than one step now. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, you kindda took everyone by surprise by bringing her as your prom date. Including me. I mean, I knew about the riding thing, but you didn't tell me about prom." _That's because I didn__'__t know till this morning_. "I mean I told you about Red…"

"You didn't tell me anything about Red." His muscles started tensing.

"Yes I did, I told you he asked me to prom." She spoke again before he could reply. "And remember what I told you I heard them say with Kairi that night. She and those girls are…"

"They're fine."

"What is your problem? I'm just trying to…"

"Well, don't." They stopped. She had a concerned expression. Why did he always do this? It was going just fine, they could have kept dancing for a couple of more songs and then…

"Is everything ok?" Red had appeared from between some people and placed a hand on Navi's bare shoulder. He tensed even more.

"We're fine." She said. "He's just a little stressed."

_Stressed?_

She wrapped her arm around Red's and walked away, without even a glance. Stupid prom, stupid, stupid, stupid. He turned around and decided he should find Zelda.

* * *

Inside the girls bathroom, three of them were giggling while taking selfies in front of the mirror. Peach was wearing a long pink dress, while Daisy had gone with a yellow one with orange details.

"I can't believe you did this, Zelda" Peach said after their 50th selfie. "This is, like, the best idea you've ever had."

"We had it together." She said, a little self conscious.

"I can't believe G hasn't realized you came with stable boy." Daisy laughed. "Imagine his sad little face when you and G get elected as prom king and queen."

"You mean if…" Peach gave her a threatening look.

"Yeah, if somehow you and your _college boyfriend_ don't win it."

They walked out the door giggling and headed back to the dance.

"OMG Peach." Daisy said in a low voice staring straight across the hall. "The janitor's totally checking you out."

"Eww"

They hurried inside and left the man in a mustache almost drooling while holding a mop.

"Mamma mia…"

* * *

Link had been leaning on some lockers, waiting when the girls finally came out of the bathroom. He took only one step to follow them and his face suddenly smashed into something.

"Owww." It was the closet door, which had been opened with a surprising amount of force.

"Oops, sorry." A guy peeked his head out of it and found him. "Link?"

"Sora?" He rubbed at his forehead. "What are you…?"

"Shhh!" He pulled Link inside the dark closet with him and closed the door, as another group of girls came out of the bathroom.

"Ohmygosh, Navi is so lucky. Red is such a piece of eye candy."

"Speaking of eye candy, did you get a look at Link?"

_What?_

"That is totally what I was gonna say. He looks so dreamy in that suit."

"He looks so angsty all the time, that makes him even sexier."

Sora had to press both hands against his mouth to stop a huge laugh from coming out. Link flinched. _Curse Twilight or whatever teenage stupidity girls were into these days. Curse them all!_

They waited until the hall was safely deserted to come outside. Sora couldn't hold the laugh anymore.

"So hey, sexy, angsty, dreamy…"

"Shut up. What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to get inside, but there's a lot of people around"

"Come on." Link walked directly to the gym without even looking around. Sora followed carefully. "Go find her, but don't take too long."

"Thanks a lot." He smiled and took a look around. He found Kairi dancing happily with Navi's group. Wow, Navi looked really nice. Everyone looked nice and he looked completely out of place. He wasn't even wearing a suit or anything. He should have thought this through…

The song was already ending when he reached them. There was a band playing, he noticed. The singer was a girl, and she was all dressed up too. Everyone clapped and cheered and she proceeded with the introduction for the next song. A slow one. He had to squeeze through a lot of people to get to Kairi, but it was all worth it. Her face light up when she saw him.

"Sora?" She went for a hug without hesitation. "What are you doing here?"

"I didn't want to miss it." He grinned. "Where's Riku?"

"Oh, he's… somewhere. With his friends, I guess." She looked around. Neither of them had noticed Riku wasn't with his friends at all. He was alone at his table, staring straight at them, but didn't even stand up. As the song started, they noticed the people around them had started pairing up and were slow dancing. She offered a hand towards him. "Wanna dance?"

"Of course." He took it and led her deeper into the crowd, as the singer started the first verse.

_You're giving me__…_He held her close and thanked every magical and mystical being he knew that there was so little space to move.

"I'm glad you came." She said.

"Why, are you not having fun?" He spun her around and brought her close again, taking small steps.

"No, I am." She sighed. "It's just… I don't really know Riku's friends and he's been distant. He's not the same anymore, you know?"

_You're all I need_…

"I do." He let out a breath too. He wasn't the same, he had noticed since the first day of school. And still she agreed to come with him. Why did everything have to be so complicated? He stared down at her and involuntarily squeezed her. She gasped and met his gaze. His heart skipped a beat. "You look beautiful, Kairi."

"Thanks." She grinned and he did too. "I'm glad you came"

She rested her head on his shoulder -they were almost the same height now that she was wearing heels- and pressed closer. _Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight__…_He closed his eyes. He could feel her heart beating on his own chest, as though it was inside it. _Whatever lies beyond this morning is a little later on__…_ He started tangling soft strands of her hair through his fingers, and rested his forehead on hers. _The future doesn't scare me at all_…

Riku couldn't help but smile, as he watched them. He could have just let them be. He should have…

"That brat is getting closer to your date than you ever will." Lance's voice cut like a knife through the music.

"He's not." Riku's fists clenched as he stood up. He _would_ let them be. Just not tonight.

_The daily things that keep us all busy are confusing me__…_

This was it, Sora thought. This is what it must feel like flying. It had to be, there couldn't exist anything better than this. He had no idea where he had gotten so strong in the subject. _Wish I could prove I love you__…_

"Kairi, I…"

"Hey." _No. No, not now, please_. Kairi pulled away and to Sora it almost felt like someone was ripping out his soul. They both turned to face Riku, stunned expressions on them. He offered Kairi his arm. "Save some dancing for me?"

"Oh." Kairi lowered her hands and tuned her head from boy to boy. "Yeah, sure." She took Riku's arm and turned to Sora. "See you around?"

"Actually, you shouldn't be here." Riku gave Sora a look, and he bit his lip.

He watched as Riku led her away, and the space where she had just stood not a second ago was swallowed by other dancers.

And then he felt it. It felt just like in his dreams. He was falling backwards into the sky. No, into the water. No, into the darkness.

* * *

"There you are." Link had found Zelda sitting at their table. She was giving him a strange look. "Where were you?"

"I was looking for you." He said.

"Oh. I thought you were with Navi."

"No, I came with you."

"Good." She was examining her own nails. "She's been staring at you all night."

"She has?" He turned around, but couldn't find her. Hadn't it been the other way around? His heart suddenly skipped a beat. Was she looking at him now?

"She's always following you around like a puppy, it's kind of depressing."

"She's my friend…"

"She wasn't very supportive about us, though, was she?"

"How did you…" Ok, she was right. But still… He sighed. She was right. Maybe it was time to stop all this weirdness going on. So he decided to tell her the truth. About why Navi was so suspicious about them spending time together. If she could tell him it was all a misunderstanding or that she had heard wrong, then everything would be alright. He might even ask her out sometime… and finally let Navi be with her date. He decided she deserved a dance too, so he reached for her hand. "We need to talk."

"Hey, looser." Suddenly, someone pushed his hand away, and his whole body with it. He had to struggle a bit to keep his balance. "Keep your hands off her."

He steadied himself and looked up, annoyed. Zelda had stood up and there was a guy standing in their way, holding a hand protectively over her shoulder.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, _Ganondorf_?" There was a collective gasp and several people turned to stare. Navi included

"Go back to your stupid date and I'll forget you ever said that." He smirked.

"This is my stup…-er- my date." He stared at Zelda. There was panic in her eyes. _What is going on?_ G let out a laugh.

"I think you're a little confused, _buddy_. She's with me." He pressed her closer to him.

"Zelda, what is he talking about?" Link suddenly became too aware of all the people staring. Zelda's friends Peach and Daisy were laughing silently across the table, both girls' phones pointing at him. _No._

"I said she's with me." Link stared at her, waiting for an answer, a move, anything. But she only turned her gaze away from him, ashamed. "I think it's time to go home."

He turned around, shooting death glares at everyone. A clean path of horrified students suddenly opened from where he was standing to the door. He started walking towards it, G's voice echoing in the back. "What are you all staring at?"

* * *

He had no recollection of how he had gotten to the school front door. This wasn't happening. It was all a bad dream. He started undoing his tie and the first buttons of the shirt. They were strangling him.

"Hey!" He barely heard her voice from behind, but refused to turn around. "Hey, listen! Link."

She had been right all along… Mr. Deku's words echoed in the back of his mind. _'Always listen to Navi'_. Why hadn't he?

"Hey, listen!" She yelled.

"No, you listen." He turned around violently to face her. She stopped cold in her tracks, hair falling out of place and her jaw dropped in surprise. "Leave me alone, alright? I can take care of myself."

He paused.

"Link, I know you're upset, but you have to listen to me…"

"No, I don't want to listen to anyone right now, especially you."

"I tried to warn you, she was…"

"She was upset with me because _you_ had to butt in." He started pacing towards her. "You always do this to me. Whenever a girl gets close to me, you scare her away."

"Me? What did I do?" Navi raised a hand to her chest.

He felt the words rushing out before he could even think about them. Words that weren't even his.

"You just can't stand the idea of other girls liking me, can you?" _Stop it, stop it, stop it._

"Why are you making this about me?" She cried

"Because even now that you have Red as your stupid date, you can't even be contempt with him. You have to be all jealous and, like, demand my attention too."

"You're not making any sense, that is not even what this is about"

"THEN WHY DO YOU KEEP FOLLOWING ME ARROUND ALL THE TIME?"

"BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT YOU!"

He stopped a good five feet away from her. She was panting for air. This was wrong.

"Well, I don't need you."

As he turned around, he felt some rain starting to fall softly upon his face. He took a deep breath.

Navi watched him walk away, unable to move. The rain started to fall stronger. That was good, that would hide the tears falling from her eyes. She wished she could wash the pain away just as easy as that.


	7. Chapter 7: The future doesn't scare me

The final bell rang and he was already inside the classroom. He had taken his usual desk at the back of the classroom and watched closely as the people flooded in, carrying notebooks, backpacks, papers (was something due today?) and chatting happily, very much unaware that there was a black hole growing larger by the second at the back of the class. Link shifted in his seat when he saw Red entering the room. Alone.

Alright, so she wasn't with him, but where was she at all?

He figured it would be natural if she didn't show up, after what had happened. He took a deep breath and started tapping his fingers.

He hadn't instantly regretted what he had said that night. In fact, he had spent the whole walk back home and the entire Sunday convincing himself that he had been right. If she hadn't told Peach about them, things would have been different. Then again, he had been the one who told her in the first place…

It hadn't entirely hit him until he had arrived at school this morning and Navi was nowhere to be seen. On the way to his locker he had scanned the hallways, all the classrooms, the patio, the cafeteria. Nothing. He had lingered by his locker until the last possible minute, waiting for the moment when her annoying little voice would ring across the hallway and then she'd half hug-half choke him and he'd tell her off, but smiled nonetheless, and then he'd know it was Monday because that was kind of how every school day started. But it never came.

They shared the second class together and he figured she might have ran a little late and headed straight to class first thing in the morning as he made his way through the hallway. If any of his classmates had thought his humiliation at prom had been funny, they didn't think so anymore. They didn't even dare to do so much as stare near Link's direction. If he hadn't been thinking so much about Navi, he would have noticed they even made way for him to pass, almost frightened.

He had to talk to her. It had been a stupid fight and she needn't be this mad at him. He had to tell her she was being stupid. She had to take the seat he'd been saving for her and she had to say something obvious to which he'd respond with a sarcastic comment and she'd laugh and everything would be normal. She had no reason to avoid him.

He had to know if she was ok.

He had thought it would be easy. She wouldn't be wearing that dress or all the makeup. The room was well light, so he wouldn't feel confused when he saw her. Nope, it would just be Navi, his best friend, and definitely not the vision he'd seen on Saturday night.

Well, he couldn't have been more wrong.

She walked into the classroom alone, clutching her books to her chest and he flinched. She was wearing her regular clothes: skinny jeans, boots and a loose blouse. No body hugging shimmering dress, leg longing high heels, no nothing. And yet, she was far from looking like his ordinary friend.

He almost stood up, almost called to her. But then simply watched as she took the first desk in sight, far away from Red – which kind of came as a relief - and further away from him. She hadn't even looked at him.

_Fine, then. If she wants to play stupid, she can play stupid._

* * *

Sora had been doodling on his notebook, instead of actually doing his homework while the rest of his group talked.

Kairi hadn't come today.

Was she sick? It had started raining not long after he had left the dance. Maybe she'd caught a cold or something. She didn't have a phone, so texting her wasn't really an option. His mind was shifting in and out of his friends' conversation. They were talking about prom, now.

It was kind of sad that there was no trace of the dance decoration anymore. The stars on the ceiling had been removed, as well as the candles, and he figured everything from the gym. There was really no proof of it ever happening…

"I heard Riku went too." He heard one of them say.

"Yeah, he went with Kairi" Sora said casually. Everybody's reaction took him by surprise. They gasped and ooh'd and opened their eyes more than usual. That kind of annoyed him. "So what?"

"So everyone knows people go together to show off and, you know… to make out". Diddy said in a low voice.

"What? To prom?" Sora made a puzzled face. That wasn't true… _pfft._

"We were talking about after prom" somebody else said.

After prom? There was no after prom, as far as Sora was concerned…

"Well, if he did go with Kairi that would explain her absence this morning."

Ok, that was silly. _What could he possibly be doing with Kairi after_…

No

He felt dizzy as he stood up, a knot inside his stomach growing tighter.

No. It didn't make sense and it was impossible, and also, it didn't make sense.

His friends tried to stop him, but he was already gone. He went straight to Riku's locker. He didn't care if he was with his friends or not. He'd even beat the truth out of him if necessary. Not that there was any truth involved, since they hadn't done _anything_.

The mere thought of it made his hands clench into fists. If they _had_ done something… why wasn't she there?

He found Riku alone -luckily- and didn't hesitate, not even for a second.

"Where is Kairi?"

Riku turned around slowly. "Oh, hey Sora."

"Where is she?" He demanded. Riku lifted an eyebrow

"Beats me…"

"Where is she?!"

"Woah" Riku raised his hands "I already told you, I don't know."

"What did you do to her?" Sora didn't think he could be more angry.

"Dude… What the hell are you talking about? What's gotten into you?" That did it.

"ME? What about _you_? Hell, it's like I don't even know you anymore. And you know what? I couldn't care less because this isn't about me or you. This is about Kairi."

"What about me?" Both guys turned to the interruption and saw Kairi walking cautiously towards them. "What's going on?"

"Kairi…" Sora's heart fell back in his chest. "I… I thought you… d-did you get home okay after prom?"

"Yeah, Navi wasn't feeling so good and she asked me to go home with her. Again, sorry about that, Riku." She smiled apologetically.

"Again, don't worry about it." The white haired boy said.

_Something happened with Navi_? Sora made a mental note to ask Link about it later. He hadn't seen him since Saturday night either. He wondered if everything was alright.

"So…" Kairi started after an awkward pause. "What's up?"

"Nothing" Riku closed the door to his locker and turned away. "I should get going. See you."

"Yeah, bye." Karir waved, though he wasn't watching. Then turned to Sora and asked in the sweetest voice "Are you ok?"

"I…" He honestly couldn't say. This was embarrassing. He'd had nothing to worry about all along. Not on Saturday night and not today. Riku hadn't done anything wrong, so Sora didn't have enough reason not to trust him, but still…

This was beyond wrong. If the three of them were still friends like last summer, everything would be fine. He would have felt free to text Riku every now and then to see how things were going. They would have discussed the fact that he was planning about taking her to prom. He wouldn't have been so worried, and most of all, he wouldn't have been so jealous.

* * *

Link had tried -and he felt stupidly guilty about this- to bump into Navi, or at least make eye contact with her, through the rest of the day. But whenever he saw her coming, he couldn't get himself to do it. Everything seemed so stupid, yet there he was. Lying on his bed, listening to music at full volume and even that couldn't help him out of his thoughts.

_Well, I don't need you_

His own words echoed at the back of his head. How could he say something like that to his best friend? Never mind if she liked him or not. They had been best friends for about, what, seven years now? And he'd hurt her. Bad.

Maybe this was for the best. Maybe he ought to quietly walk away from her life and leave her be. She should be with Red. Or whoever she wanted to be with, and he should just…

"Link?" Mr. Deku called and gently knocked on his door. "There's a young girl here to see you."

He immediately sat up. _Navi__…_

He almost threw himself down the stairs, trying to keep his beenie from falling from his head and stopped at the door.

_Breathe_. His heart felt like it was trying to hammer its way out of his chest. He took a few good breaths and opened the door.

"Zelda?" He frowned to the sight of the blonde girl on his doorstep. His heart sank and he started closing the door again. "I don't think you need any more lessons."

"No, wait." She placed a hand on the door to try to keep it open. If he wanted to, he could have shut it anyway. Hell, he could have broken her arm. "Please, I'm sorry. I want to talk to you."

He stared at her for a moment. This didn't make sense. With those puppy eyes of hers, looking vulnerable and weak, she was definitely the girl who haunted him in his dreams. So why had it come to this with her? He shouldn't be disgusted by her. He should feel somehow heroic… Like in his dreams.

His gaze softened and he stepped outside, without a word. They walked in silence all the way to the back, closer to the woods and he gestured for her to start talking, as calmly as he could.

"I'm really sorry." She lowered her head and her voice. "About everything."

He took a deeeeeeeep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Why would you do that to me?" He asked

"I wasn't even thinking. My friends were always saying G liked me and that we should be together. But I don't know if I really like him. And then I met you and I did. Like you. I liked spending time with you and everything." She paused. "And then I got kind of scared when he said he was with me, the other night. And I should have… But I couldn't, you know? And then…"

He watched her struggle for words and actually enjoyed it a little. Zelda wasn't a bad person. He knew that. She was only used to hang around the wrong people. The fact that she'd come all this way to apologize kind of proved it. Didn't it?

It had to be her. She was the same girl, she was involved with horse riding, granted, she didn't have a castle, but she had a pretty big mansion, and she knew that song he always played. It had to be destiny. He had dreamt of it, it had to be.

"Do you wanna go out with me?" The words came spilling out before he could stop them.

"Wha- what?" He had obviously caught her off guard.

"I asked if you wanted to go out. With me."

"Like… in public?" she made a face.

"Yes, _like in public_. We could go out to dinner or something."

"Uh…" She hesitated for a second. "Sure. Dinner sounds nice."

* * *

For whatever reason Like had to ask Zelda out that day, he was starting to believe it hadn't been so brilliant. Or maybe it was her who wasn't so brilliant?

He had tried to make conversation with Navi the whole week. He wanted her to know that he was going out with Zelda. Maybe then _she_ would get all jealous and angry and at least talk to him.

That had proven useless. Even if she did agree to so much as make eye contact with him, of course she wouldn't say anything about his date. He specifically told her not to.

As Friday drew nearer, he decided he didn't care. He'd had a reason to say all those things to her, even if they had come out rougher than needed. And in a way, he was looking forward to this date with Zelda. Maybe if he got to know her better, he would discover deep inside she was a wonderful person and they were meant to be together, like his dreams said.

Once again, he couldn't have been more wrong.

They hadn't even said anything since their food was placed on the table. Even worse, he didn't really feel like talking to her. He thought about random subjects, but scratched them off. He didn't believe she'd be into what he was into… Plus, she didn't look like she was into anything at all, besides her stupid pink phone -which she kept checking all the time. Was she checking the hour or updating her Facebook status to 'worst date ever'?

There had to be something…

She checked her phone _again_ and started laughing at something.

"Omg. Peach just said the meanest thing on our whatsapp group chat." She lifted her gaze and was about to say more of hit, but held her tongue. "It's not really that funny"

"Do your friends even know you're here?" He asked, curious. She set her phone aside.

"Yeah, I told them. They didn't, like, say anything. Not that it would matter, anyway." Link raised his glass to his lips and took a sip of the water. He hadn't expected her to tell them.

"Why do you even hang out with those girls?" He asked.

"They're my friends." She said, simply.

"They're… horrible." He wasn't done with his food, but he didn't feel hungry anymore.

"Peach is kind of mean sometimes, but she's still my friend. We've, like, always been friends, I guess." She chuckled to herself. "You know, at first when Riku told her about our riding lessons I thought my life was totally over. But then…"

"Wait" _Did she say__…_ "Riku? No, you said Navi told her about it."

"So I thought. She only said '_his little friend__'_ when she first told me, so I assumed it was her, but then it wasn't. And then I thought about it and, well, what would _she_ be doing talking to Peach, right? So, yeah…"

Link stared at her, stupefied.

It wasn't Navi. It wasn't her at all. It had been Riku all along.

_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit._

He had given her hell for something that wasn't even her fault in the first place. He mentally beat the shit out of himself. _Great job, Link, you just lost the most important person in your life for__…_

He gazed at the girl across the table. She was still taking about god knows what. It didn't matter anymore. Zelda was the girl of his dreams, not Navi. There just had to be something to prove it.

He held on to that thought all the way through dinner and their walk home. He didn't even bother taking her all the way to the front door. They stopped at the first gate.

"So I had a good time." She said, but her uncomfortable posture said the opposite. "I guess I'll, uhm, see you"

She wasn't sure whether to shake his hand, or hug him, or what… But she didn't have to worry about it for long. Without so much as a word, he closed in, took her face in his hands and…

* * *

"Dude… you kissed her?" Sora's eyes widened in shock and he almost fell from the rock he was sitting on. Link shrugged. He was leaning against a tree, on their usual spot in the woods. "And then what happened?"

"That's the thing. Nothing happened." He said. He wondered why he hadn't come to Sora in the first place. It felt so good to just let it all out. "I get it, by the way."

"Huh?"

"You know, that feeling you told me about a while ago. That there's something we should know about. That everyone should know about, but they don't. I feel it too."

"I know." Sora said. "I've known all along. I guessed you just didn't know me well enough to trust me back then."

Link only stared at him. That was true.

"And what happened with Navi?" Sora pressed on the subject.

"I called her and texted her like a million times, but she never answered." He took out his phone and sent her another one, then smiled sadly. "I remember when Mr. Deku introduced us. He just brought her to the house one day when I was ten and said a boy like me needed a friend like her. He constantly told me to 'always listen to Navi'. I wish I had. I wish there was something else I could do to somehow make sure I haven't lost her forever."

"I still can't believe what you told her."

"Yeah, well, it's not like I can go back in…" He paused.

_Time_

Unsure of the reason, he took out his ocarina and placed it on his mouth. Then softly started playing the melody that had just popped into his head. He had dreamt about this one several times, he knew, but he never had remembered it this clearly.

Sora watched him with his brow furrowed in curiosity. Link had closed his eyes, losing himself into the melody. As soon as he was finished, he heard a loud thump and when he opened his eyes, Sora was on the ground, staring dumbly at him.

"What just happened?" He asked.

"What, did you fall or something?" Link raised an eyebrow while Sora stood up

"Uhm, I guess. The rock I was sitting on kindda disappeared…" He moved from the spot and looked around. It was definitely gone. "How did you do that?"

"I didn't do anything…"

Link stared at Sora rubbing at his back and then past him, where the boulder had stood… And there was a door behind him. A door with a giant lock right in the middle. His jaw dropped and Sora turned around, a little scared by his friend's expression.

"What the… A door?" Sora shifted his gaze from Link to the door several times.

"Sora, I think… I think it means you." Link had no idea why that thought had come to his mind. Sora just stared at him, unsure of what to make of it. "Your key. I somehow moved the rock with the ocarina and your key should open the door."

He felt the key inside his pocked and gulped. Link sounded so sure of himself -which he actually wasn't, he had no idea of what he was saying. Sora took a deep breath and took out the key.

"This is not going to work." He said, comparing the tiny key to the gigantic hole. There was no way it would fit. He raised it to the lock and closed one eye, studying it.

Suddenly, he felt it moving on its own. The key matched the lock's center and a ray of light shot from it, straight through the door. It clicked open.

This was impossible.

Link and Sora stared at each other with their mouths open, and slowly started pacing towards the door. It took nearly all of Sora's strength to push it open.

Two heads peeked inside what appeared to be a cave. Or was it a room? They weren't sure of anything anymore. The only certain thing was that it appeared to be separated in half. Not that there was a wall, or anything. Things just looked… different on the right side than the left one. Both sides had exactly the same things: a chest placed against a wall, a table in the middle of each side and a door at the back wall. Despite having the same things and placed in the same order, mirror-like, it looked like it had been decorated by two different people.

Sora felt inclined towards the right side and Link towards the left.

"What is this place?" Sora asked

"No idea…" Link stopped at his table. It had a paper on it, being held by a little glass bottle filled with some green liquid. He read the note:

_'It will all make sense very soon'_

What the hell…? He turned to Sora and saw he was reaching for his bottle.

"No!" He yelled, louder than he had intended, and Sora jumped back. "Don't touch it, we don't know what it is."

"But…"

Link felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. It felt kind of out of place in here. His eyes opened in shock.

"It's Navi." He said. "She's coming over! Sora, did you hear?"

"Uh huh." Sora wasn't listening at all.

"Ok, stay here. I'll be right back." He said, already leaving. "And don't touch anything!"

* * *

"They are almost ready."

"It seems like it"

* * *

Link ran to the stables as fast as he could, then stopped like deer being spotted by a hunter when he saw her. She had been leaning against the fence, facing the other way, but had started to turned around because of the noise he made.

She brushed a strand of hair out of her face, lowering her gaze to the ground and crossing her arms on her chest, waiting for him to come closer. For one agonizing second, Link though she was crying, or going to cry. But as he came closer to her, he saw her eyes were dry as a bone and her expression neutral. She wasn't smiling, but she didn't look angry either. She didn't yell at him with that annoying little voice of hers. It was so strange, so unfamiliar…

He slowed down as he approached her, unsure of what to do or say. He climbed up the fence and sat there, right next to her.

"Hey…" He said. Her eyes were still fixated on the ground. He raised a hand, but hesitated. "Please, talk to me."

She tilted up her head and met his gaze. The sun fell upon her face and enlightened it.

"What do you want me to say?"

Link felt his soul coming back to his body at the sound of her voice. He was starting to fear he'd never hear it again. He couldn't help but smile, to which she responded by backing up a little bit.

"Navi, I…" He stopped. He had wanted to talk to her ever since last Saturday and now he had no idea what to say.

"I wasn't going to come." She said suddenly. "Kairi talked me into it. She said it must have been a misunderstanding. But I know it wasn't." She sighed. "That was pretty fucked up, what you told me. I can't say it didn't struck me. But it's fine. If that's how you feel about me, it's fine."

"No…" He climbed down and bended to her height. She blinked. He sighed and ran both hands through his hair, straightening up "I'm sorry. I really am. I was so upset and I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have said anything. You were right. About everything. It doesn't matter, anyway. I should have put you first. I should have always put you first."

Why had it taken him all these years to reach to this conclusion?

"Link…"

"No, please let me apologize. I was so confused and you looked so freaking beautiful, it was driving me crazy". He was so focused on what he was saying, he didn't notice the surprise building in her eyes. "But you weren't with me, you were with…"

Another thought came to his mind.

"Uhm… So what about Red?" He tried to sound nonchalant and failed majestically.

"What about him?" She asked

"Are you guys together or something?" He figured no, since he hadn't seen them together at school, but still.

"We never were _together_, Link." She almost laughed. Almost. "What about Zelda?"

"I'm guessing she'll be needing a new riding instructor now. Although I doubt anyone can really help her" He said. And then the craziest thing happened.

She smiled.

"You thought I looked beautiful? I really couldn't tell, since you looked at me like you wanted to kill me." Now she was starting to sound more like herself.

"I always think you're beautiful." He said. He felt the heat rushing to his face, but didn't turn away. She did, trying to hide the obvious blush and started playing with her blue hair.

She let her arm fall to the side and Link became very aware of how close their hands were. It was close enough for him to reach for it.

* * *

_'Don't touch anything'_

"_Tsk."_ Sora had paced around the table about ten times now.

That was a stupid thing to say. If he wasn't supposed to touch anything, how come he had been able to open the door? It was all obviously meant for him and Link. _Obviously_.

He couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed the bottle and raised it, trying to see if it had a mark or something. Nothing. Only pure transparent glass and that green liquid. It couldn't be poison, could it? He opened it and sniffed. No, judging by the sweet smell, it definitely wasn't poison.

And the note _did_ sound like an invitation…

Oh, what the hell. He held his breath, closed his eyes and drank deep.

And then it all came back to him. Sora felt like a computed being loaded with information. His brain started frantically scanning though every memory he had ever had.

His real memories. From his real life at the islands, and traverse town, and Donald and Goofy, the keyblade. Everything.

"Oh no…"

* * *

Link was still deciding whether to take her hand when he saw Sora coming from inside the woods. He looked like he'd just seen a ghost and was running straight to them.

"Link!" He panted for air and pulled him by the arm. "Link, you have to come with me."

"Sora, I told you to wait for me. I'm kind of in the middle of…"

"No, you don't understand." The poor kid was horrified. "I remember. I remember everything and you will too. Just come with me. You _have_ to come with me."

Link sighed and turned to Navi. "Please, wait for me? I won't be long."

"Hurry!" Sora was still trying to pull him away.

"Alright…" She said, puzzled.

Link wanted to kiss her so bad. Or hug her, at least, anything. But he let Sora pull him away, without taking his eyes off her until she was out of sight.

"Sora, what the hell?" Link snatched his arm away and ran with him.

"You'll see." Sora didn't slow down until they were inside the cave again. He grabbed the bottle that was on what appeared to be Link's side and pushed it into his hands. "Drink it"

Link saw the other bottle was empty. "I told you not to touch anything."

"Shut up and drink it." Sora's voice sounded more like a threat now.

Ignoring a protest at the back of his mind, Link opened the bottle and drank it. He saw his own life as if it were a movie. As if it were a lie. His real memories were coming back like an avalanche and it was all too much.

"Wha-what the hell is going on?" He said after a long pause. "What am I doing here?"

"So you remember too?" Sora asked. Link only attempted to nod. "So where are you from? I sure haven't seen you in any of the worlds I've visited. Wait. You're not a heartless, are you?"

"What the hell is a heartless?"

"It's an evil creature that feeds upon people's heart." He tried to sound logical.

"I have twenty hearts." Link said.

"Woah, you'd be a real treat for the heartless." Sora laughed. "So where do you live?"

"Hyrule…" Link's head hurt really bad as he made an effort to put everything together. "I've been dreaming of this. But they weren't dreams at all, were they? They were memories."

"I had those dreams too. About Riku and Kairi and the keyblade and some other friends." Sora looked so pleased with himself.

"So they're from your world." Something didn't fit. "Wait, is Riku a bad guy in your world?"

"No!" Sora considered the question for a moment. "He's just a little confused. But that's why I have to go back. I have to find him and Kairi and make everything alright again. And you… what do you do?"

Link hadn't discovered how to feel about all of this just yet.

"I'm a hero. I'm the hero who's meant to save Hyrule". He could fight terrible monsters and here he was, not a second ago, worrying about girls and school. He was meant to do great things. "I have to defeat Ganondorf and save Princess Zelda…"

"Princess Zelda?" Sora asked. "So she _is_ a princess after all?"

"Of course…" Link felt like everything was a bad taste joke. Freaking hilarious. "She has responsibilities back in my world, she has duties, people who rely on her. Here all she has is… money."

Epona, the ocarina, the Deku tree -or Mr. Deku- everything made sense now. But Link couldn't help but feel like there was something he wasn't seeing just yet.

"That settles it, then." Sora said. "I think these doors are what takes us to our worlds, but we have to go together. I tried mine, but it didn't work. I'm guessing yours has to be open too. We have to go back and set things right."

"Who would do this to us?" Link frowned. But Sora was right.

"I don't know… but we have to go back. Then I can be with Kairi and you can be with Navi. Hey, maybe I can find the way to your world on my ship and I'll come visit you guys."

_Navi_

Link fell his preasure lowering and he had to sit down.

_Navi_

Of course he hadn't dreamt of her. She was a fairy and fairies didn't exist in his mind until now. She had been there for him all along. That little annoying voice ringing in his head. It was her. It had been her all along.

"Link, are you alright?" Sora tried to help him up.

"I can't go back." He mumbled.

"What?"

"Sora, I can't… I can't go. I can't go back." He rubbed his face.

"Link, we have to. We have responsibilities, people are counting on us. I've already lost enough time. My friends must be worried sick about me and the heartless could have taken entire worlds up to now."

"No, you don't understand." Link was so frustrated he couldn't even think straight. "I can't go back. If I do, I'll lose her forever and I can't. I _can't_ lose her. _I love her_."

Sora's jaw dropped. It took Link a moment to calm himself, but he finally did it. Sora placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

"We have to go." He said.

"I know." He sighed. "Just… just not yet. Please, I have to talk to her first."

"Alright."

They locked eyes for a second. Sora didn't understand how he could lose her, but he had no other option but to trust him. Without even realizing it, Link had expressed more about how he really felt right now than through the entire year. Sora was so glad they became friends.

He followed Link outside and prepared himself mentally to run over to the stables again, but found out he didn't have to.

"Link?" Navi shoved a branch aside and made her way to the boy's spot. "Guys, what's going on? What is this place?"

Link ran to her and hugged her with all the strength he had. There was a terrible knot inside his throat and he feared for a second it might be his heart.

"Navi" He whispered.

"Link, what the hell? You're strangling me." She tried to break free, but failed.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and stared at her, at every feature of her face. He brushed her blue hair with his hands and ran his thumb through the side of her face, trying to remember every detail.

Who would do this to him?

The minute he'd go back to Hyrule, she'd be nothing more than a winged blue light hovering by his shoulder. He flinched at the thought and felt something being ripped off his chest.

"Navi, I was such an idiot." He said. She was staring at him in shock. "I do need you. You have no idea of how much I need you."

"Link, what are you talking about?" She frowned and he placed his forehead on hers. She gasped. "It really wasn't that big a deal… I forgive you."

He laughed. This was so ironic. This was so terribly ironic.

She couldn't help but laugh too. "You're so weird, I swear."

He placed a hand under her chin and gently lifted her face, while the other hand pulled her closer to him. He had been so blind. This felt good, this fit. This… _She_. She was _perfect_. She was his best friend, she had always taken care of him. He just hadn't seen it.

But at that moment, pressing her close to him and parting his lips, about to meet hers, he decided he wasn't about to let go.

* * *

"Freeze it"

"What?"

"Do it now"

A man with a huge white beard and a pointy blue hat waved a hand, and Link and Navi froze just when they were about to touch, just like if someone had paused a movie. Many eyes stared at the image, frustrated and confused.

"Take them back. And there's one more thing. You're going to have to take their memories too."

"Your majesty…"

Everyone stared at him in shock. Three women were thoroughly discussing something at one side of the room.

"But I thought we were going to let them do it on their own." Another voice said sadly. "Gawrsh. And they were so close, too…"

"His majesty is right, it's too late now." One of the three women stepped closer. "We know the boy. If he kisses her, he will not rest until he finds a way to get back to a world where they are both human."

"Farore's right." Another one of the women paced forward. "That would be a terrible detour from his original destiny. We cannot let that happen."

"How could we not see this coming?"

"I'm afraid I did warn you." The old man spoke again, his voice heavy. "Their hearts have always been strongly connected. With the same form of body, there was always the risk of this bond taking a different turn."

"Wait a second." A high pitched sweet little voice spoke this time. "Mickey, if he takes their memories then all this would have been a waste of time".

"Not quite." The mouse stood from the chair he was resting on and took his wife's hands. "You see, they have been bound by the heart. They might not remember meeting, but they will always carry each other inside their hearts and when the moment comes when their destinies intertwine, they will feel it."

He nodded at the wizard, who waved his hands through the image again. Within a matter of seconds, everything was gone. They were back home, back in their real lifes.

"So what do we do now?"

"We wait. And we trust that they will do what's right in due time, like they always have."

* * *

The end


End file.
